


Set your wolves on me

by Littleredridinghunter



Series: Stiles is a BAMF [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Laura Hale, Alpha Laura Hale, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Stiles, Canon deaths, Evil Gerard Argent, Evil Kate Argent, Hurt Derek, Hurt Stiles, Jealous Derek, Kidnapped Stiles, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Oblivious Stiles, Stiles-centric, Tortured Derek, Tortured Stiles Stilinski, but he's not far off, derek is not a complete failwolf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-03 20:07:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 37,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8728405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littleredridinghunter/pseuds/Littleredridinghunter
Summary: Kate set the Hale house on fire, killing most of the pack, their emissary Claudia Stilinski and her child, Stiles.Thirteen years later and Kate is back in town, planning something that Derek is sure will end in disaster for them.Good job he decides to kidnap the gorgeous teenager who smells like her and beat some information out of him. Probably not the smartest move Derek's ever had!





	

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my God! My summaries actually suck and I'm so sorry.
> 
> I've had this one written for a while but just needed to finish it off, so surprise! 
> 
> Again, there's lots of hurt Stiles. I really need to take a break from hurting him, even I'm starting to feel sorry for him now. 
> 
> There's non-con touching and kissing, also there's a moment with Peter and Tom where Peter sort of blackmails Tom into kissing him.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! I'm a bit happier with this one so yeah, hope you guys are too!

Derek Hale was ten-years-old when his life was flipped upside down by a fire that claimed most of his family’s lives. Kate Argent, an eighteen-year-old hunter, had been out to prove herself to her father, prove that she could murder werewolves without a second thought. She set fire to their home and in doing so claimed the lives of his mother, father, aunty, two uncles and their partners, five cousins, their pack emissary - a druid - Claudia Stilinski and her four-year-old son Mieczyslaw. 

Derek survived, along with his sisters, Cora who was four and Laura who was twelve and their uncle Peter who was sixteen. The first night after the fire Derek had been terrified, scared that they’d all be separated, that he wouldn’t be able to control his wolf, wouldn’t be able to keep on living. He should have been there. He should have been able to do something. Instead he’d gotten detention and the others had to stay behind and wait for him, something that his mother had insisted upon, usually Mica would have been with them but he’d had the day off school because he hadn’t been feeling well. The rule was that none of them left school without the others. Derek’s family had died and if he’d only been there, maybe he could have done something.

They hadn’t known, not until Laura had curled over in pain a little over a mile away from the house and when she stood up her normal beta eyes were flashing Alpha red. Derek had stood there, completely bewildered, unable to understand why it was happening. Peter had taken one look at her eyes and ran straight for the house. Derek had heard his howls of despair long before they’d caught up. When they’d finally got there all Derek could smell was smoke and fire and pain and another scent, who he knew must belong to the arsonist, one that was sickly sweet and was filled with pleasure at the sight in front of them.

Sheriff John Stilinski approached them in the station waiting room, his blue eyes still full of tears and his face worn with grief, Derek took a moment to recall that John had lost his wife and child in the fire. Laura was clutching onto Cora tightly, their dark hair tangled together so that Derek couldn’t tell who’s was who’s, and tears streaming down both their faces. Peter was standing a little away from them, evidently in shock, unable to figure out how or why this had happened, counting the fingers on his hands as if he was trapped in an awful dream. Derek sat there, looking at the only remaining family he had left and couldn’t feel anything other than a pure rage. 

John took them home that night, he said that they would all stay with him for the foreseeable future and the topic was not open for conversation. They’d filed into the small house and made their way to the bedrooms. Laura and Cora got the spare bedroom, Peter and Derek shared little Mica’s. Derek felt like bursting into tears at the thought of the smallest Stilinski, the kid had insisted that they called him Stiles, as no one other than his mother could ever pronounce his name properly, Derek called him Mica just to wind him up and would laugh when the kid threw a tantrum. 

The room smelt of him, Derek let Peter have the bed and he lay down on the carpeted floor, moving a few toys out of the way to make space. He lay awake for hours, listening to the sounds of his sisters crying quietly down the hall, listening to John sobbing in the room next door, sounding like his heart was completely breaking, he looked up and saw that tears were streaming silently down Peter’s cheeks. 

All he could feel was guilt. This was his fault. If he’d just behaved in class, then he would have been there and they could have done something. 

The weeks passed by slowly, each of them slowly coming to terms with their loss. There were plenty of incidents where they snapped at each other, said things they didn’t mean, cried, yelled, screamed. Laura was an Alpha at twelve, it was pretty unheard of and Peter had to spend a lot of time teaching her everything he could remember about Alphas, how to behave, how to help the pack, the powers that Alphas had. It wasn’t brilliant, but it was better than she would have done by herself. 

Derek didn’t know what he would have done without John, the man had taken them in and cared for them. He told them that they were living with him and that was that. Derek had felt relieved at that, child services wouldn’t take them from him and they wouldn’t get split up. It made him breathe a little easier, even if he still felt overwhelming guilt and anger. 

It was a few months before they found out that it was Kate Argent who had set the fire. Peter had been so enraged that he’d nearly killed Laura in an attempt to get out of the house.

“What are you going to do when you get out?” John said from the doorway. “She’s not here Peter. I don’t know where she is. Nobody does. You can’t find her. You can’t do anything. Just stay here, stay with your family, with us.” John said, his voice flooding with emotion and Peter just collapsed in on himself.

“It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.” Peter sobbed on the floor as John cradled him, “If I’d run faster, or smelt the smoke sooner, or just done something.”

“I think that too.” John said and Peter looked up at him in confusion, “If I’d just made Claudia stay home that day, or taken Stiles to work with me, or gone to your house to meet them when my shift ended like I was supposed to instead of filling in paperwork.” John was nearly crying now and Derek wanted to reassure him somehow. 

“It’s my fault.” Laura said, her blue eyes fierce as she looked at the people around her, “I should have felt something. Mum had said about Alpha’s been able to feel pack members. I should have felt something was wrong.” 

“It’s my fault.” Cora said, her small voice breaking slightly as she cried and Laura rubbed her back soothingly, “I walked too slow. I should have gone faster.” They all turned to Derek and he couldn’t help but feel angry.

“It’s not your fault though is it? You can all come up with reasons as to why it’s your fault but in reality it’s not. The only person to blame is me. I’m the reason we weren’t there. I’m the reason we were late. I got into an argument at school. I got detention. I wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around me, I was dragging my feet because I knew mum would be mad. It’s on me. It’s all on me. It’s my fault.” Derek raged, shouting at them and unwilling to break down. He didn’t want to cry, he wanted to stay angry. It hurt less when he was angry. 

“Derek,” John said coming towards him, his hands held out in a placating manner, “It’s not your fault. If you’d been there, you all would have died as well. I know it hurts Derek but it’s going to be okay.” 

“How?” Derek said and he felt his walls cracking. How would it be okay? How would it ever be okay again? He was shaking, his whole body falling apart with the effort it was taking him to stop from breaking down.

“We’re together.” John said simply, “We’re all hurting. We all lost our families. But we’re here and we’re not going to go anywhere. We’ve got each other.” John said taking another step closer and Derek fell into his arms sobbing. He felt the hot press of bodies around him, indicating that his whole family, all that was left of his family, were staying with him. It didn’t help the desire for vengeance that burned through him, but he knew that if he was patient his time would come.

Years passed and, as they say, time healed their wounds. John wouldn’t ever be their mother or father, but he became as close to a father as Derek could hope for. They would never replace Stiles, but John loved them just the same. He cried at their graduations, first Peter, then Laura and then Derek. Cora was growing up quickly, Derek wondered sometimes if John looked at Cora and saw Stiles, he would have been the same age as her now, well into his rebellious teenage years, Derek smiled as he thought about the small, hyperactive child that used to run around the preserve with them, often getting a piggy back off Laura or Derek. 

Peter moved out when he turned twenty-two, he found a nice apartment a few blocks over and he’d started a job at a law firm that was paying quite nicely, not that any of them needed it, there was more than enough money from the life insurance policies. Laura went to college and got a degree in veterinary care, Derek tried not to laugh when she returned with blood on her sleeves from where all the cats had scratched her, the wounds long since healed. 

Derek thought long and hard about what he wanted to do with his life, what his talents were. He wasn’t really very good with other people, and he couldn’t be a vet, he didn’t like cats at all. He quite enjoyed drawing and he’d thought a few times about becoming an architect. It was only when he mentioned the idea to John who had beamed proudly at him that he decided to go for it. 

They went over to Peter’s loft a lot, they were still a pack after all and they didn’t like spending too much time apart. They had a pack night at least twice a week, obviously John was included in it, he didn’t come on the runs though, mainly because he laughed and said he wouldn’t be able to keep up. They always made sure to call him when they got back if they decided to crash at Peter’s so he wouldn’t worry. 

Laura moved out into a small flat above the vet’s office and Derek and Cora tried to put brave faces on. She clung tightly to them, despite the fact that Derek was eighteen now and would not, under any circumstances, admit that he was going to miss his sister. She was only going to be down the road but still, it wasn’t going to be the same without her. 

Derek studied architecture and passed his course quickly, coming top of the class. John, Laura, Peter and Cora had beamed at him from the stands as he accepted his qualification and he was so happy, despite the fact that it should have been his parents there instead. 

He got a few job offers soon after that and thankfully they let him work from home, not to mention paying him extremely well. It meant that often when Cora got home from school she’d pile her homework on top of his sheets and he’d stick his tongue out at her childishly. She’d snort with laughter before letting him move his plans out of the way. 

“I was thinking about rebuilding the old house.” He said one Sunday evening when they were having dinner at John’s. 

“Really?” Peter said raising an eyebrow and Derek nodded. He was worried that they would all react badly to this but he couldn’t help but think it would be nice to open his curtains in the morning and see the preserve again. 

“I think it’s a great idea.” Cora said from next to him and he smiled at his little sister, she’d probably been able to sense his worry. 

“Me too.” Laura said smiling at him. Peter nodded and Derek glanced to John.

“Fine with me kiddo.” John said smiling happily. 

“When it’s finished,” Derek said, probably getting a bit ahead of himself, “I was wondering, if you’d, if we’d all, maybe, it sounds silly, but I thought we could all move in?” He said in a rush, looking at the table, not wanting to see the rejection when they all told him it was a stupid idea.

“So long as you soundproof the rooms.” Peter said, “I do not want to be listening to anything I shouldn’t be.” He said and John and Laura both laughed and Cora just looked at them in confusion. Derek blushed brightly, he hoped he’d lived down the moment with Paige and the car but obviously not. It wasn’t like he’d planned for things to happen there, but Paige had been quite insistent and obviously he wasn’t going to turn her down. So somehow, he’d ended up losing his virginity in the back of his car at seventeen to a girl who’d left town a few months later without a backwards glance. That probably had something to do with the Sheriff’s car that had turned up a few minutes after they’d finished, with both his uncle and his sister rolling around on the floor laughing at his state of undress. He wanted to believe that it was that reason and not that he’d done a poor job of it.

When Derek was twenty the house was completely rebuilt, it had soundproof rooms as requested, along with private bathrooms, including several guest rooms, several panic rooms, wards to protect them from harm (it was done by a druid named Deaton, none of them liked him as much as they had Claudia). There was a large kitchen and living room, a games room, three offices, a huge library and underground rooms which held a gym and swimming pool, not to mention the emergency tunnels downstairs for escape. Derek didn’t think that anything like the fire would ever happen again, but he wasn’t going to take any chances with his family’s safety, even when Laura said he was probably overdoing it. 

In all honesty, the house was bigger than the one that had stood there previously and it was differently shaped and brighter and more open than the old one. Derek didn’t want it to be the exact same, he didn’t want to walk through the door and expect to be greeted by his parents. He wanted the difference and he knew the others wanted that too, but they still kept some of the same things, they still had a large bay window in the library where Laura would sit and read for hours, they still had a large kitchen table that they could all sit at together. It felt like home. 

John decided to sell his house a few months later, they emptied it out, Derek finding several pictures of Claudia and Stiles that made them both weep for hours. John found some of Claudia’s druid books and moved them to the new house, determined that one day they would have a use again. He didn’t want Deaton to know about them though, John didn’t really trust the man for some reason, so they went up on one of the highest shelves in the back corner of the library and sometimes Derek would catch John just sitting there and staring at them.

“Claudia was convinced Stiles would have them one day.” John said one day and Derek sat down next to him, “She was sure he was going to be even more powerful than she was and she wanted him to have every advantage possible. She wanted him to have every ounce of knowledge she had.”

“She was special. They both were.” Derek said, remembering the bright smile Claudia always had for him or the way Stiles would stomp his foot when Derek called him little Mica, he wasn’t little and his name was Stiles, Claudia and his mum laughing in the background. He couldn’t help but grin at the memory. 

Laura drove up late one Saturday afternoon in the summer with a cluster of teenagers following in a large minibus behind her. They were all out on the porch, John was stood by the BBQ in the garden, meat piled high on the table next to him – werewolves eat a lot, deal with it - Peter and Cora were both sat reading in two of the chairs on the porch and Derek was leaning against the railings surveying the forest around them.

“What’s this?” Peter said, glancing up from a book he was reading.

“Guys, I want you to meet, Melissa, Scott, Erica, Isaac, Boyd, Jackson and Lydia.” Laura said, introducing a woman who looked around John’s age with dark hair and a timid smile, a dark haired boy with a wide smile and kind eyes, a blonde girl who, considering she’d be around Cora’s age was dressed very provocatively, a boy who had short blonde curls and a haunted look in his eyes, there was a dark skinned boy who was easily as tall as Derek and looked a little terrifying but who nodded his head at them slowly, another boy who had short gelled hair and looked like he’d rather be anywhere else but here and another young girl with strawberry blonde hair who was gazing around at them with fierce intelligence in her eyes.

“Right.” Derek said, “And what are they doing here?” Derek said, trying not to snarl when he inhaled and registered that all of them, apart from Lydia and Melissa, were werewolves. 

“Well,” Laura said, shifting uncomfortably on her feet, “You know how I had to go and cover a shift and that clinic a few towns over?” Derek nodded, wishing she’d get to the point already, “When I was there they found me. An alpha passed through the town a few months ago. They all got bitten.”

“What about the red haired one?” Cora asked in confusion.

“My name is Lydia.” The girl said harshly, flipping her hair over her shoulder, “And, if you must know, I’m a banshee.”

“Erm, I’m also human.” Melissa said raising her hand delicately and Peter snorted with laughter.

“We got that sweetheart.” He said and Scott glared at him before Melissa put an arm on his shoulder and he calmed down.

“Melissa is actually Scott’s mum.” Laura added, “She took everyone in, helped them deal with the werewolf situation.” Lydia cleared her throat and Laura rolled her eyes, “And the banshee situation as well.”

Derek couldn’t help but be a little bit amazed, a human woman had helped six teenagers through the change, he knew that they must be pretty in control of the change as they hadn’t already lashed out at Peter, who just gave most people the urge to punch him. Derek figured it was because he was a lawyer.

“You see, the Alpha bit these kids and we couldn’t find him or her.” Melissa said, “I took them in, their parents weren’t exactly the most understanding.” Melissa informed them and Derek saw Isaac flinch at the mention of parents and couldn’t help but feel sorry for the kid. “When Scott called me today to say he smelt another Alpha at the clinic we all went down there together, not really knowing what to expect. Definitely not Laura anyway.” Melissa said and John cracked a grin. 

“I told them about our pack and suggested that they come meet us.” Laura said, “I thought that, maybe, if we all agreed, we could think about maybe taking them in?”

“Are you kidding me?” Derek said, “They are strangers. They could be like the Argents for all we know.” Derek snarled and both Isaac and Jackson took a few steps backwards.

“They won’t be.” Laura said calmly, “They’re not hunters Derek. They’re kids who got bitten and need help.”

“Where do you expect them to stay?” Peter drawled.

“Well,” Laura said, shifting on her feet uncomfortably, “There’s plenty of spare rooms here.”

“No.” Derek said, “Absolutely not. What if they damage the wards? Or break them on purpose? Or lead hunters here? Or can’t control themselves and kill someone?” 

“Derek,” Laura pleaded, “They aren’t like Kate. Please. Just please. Give them a chance.” 

“I’m with Derek.” Peter said, “We don’t know if we can trust them.” 

“Well, I like them.” Cora said, grinning at Lydia who flashed a small smile back. “I want them to stay.” The four of them turned in unison to look at John who was standing by the BBQ and paying the meat a lot more attention than necessary.

“John?” Peter asked and John looked up quickly.

“I really don’t think it’s up to me.” John said.

“Of course it is.” Cora said.

“You are pack. Your opinion matters.” Derek said.

“Well, if you want my vote,” John said hesitating, eyeing up the teenagers and Melissa, “I think that we should give them the benefit of the doubt.” Derek groaned and John added hastily, “First sign of any trouble and they go. But, Laura’s right, they’re kids. They need support and help. I know Claudia would hate me if I sent them packing without giving them a proper chance.” 

“Fine.” Derek growled, “I’m going for a perimeter run.” He snarled as his body rippled and he became a large black wolf, he made sure his hackles were stood up, making him seem even larger than usual and making himself as intimidating as possible to the teenagers. They would be too terrified to do anything stupid this way. He took a step forwards and Isaac and Erica both squeaked in fear before he darted towards the trees and out of sight.

“How did he do that?” Scott said in awe as soon as Derek was gone and Laura rolled her eyes.

“All wolves can do it. Eventually, when your wolves have settled, I’ll teach you how to do it too.” She said, leading them towards the BBQ. 

“It was pretty cool.” Boyd said and Laura grinned.

“Derek is a show off.” Peter said, rising from his chair and walking towards them, “Don’t be afraid of him, he’s just trying to scare you into behaving.” 

“He’s a bit of a dick.” Jackson said and John glared at him.

“Derek has reasons for doing what he does. I’d be polite if I were you, especially if you want to live in the house he built.” John replied and Jackson blushed.

“Sorry.” He mumbled and John nodded his head as a sign of forgiveness.

It quickly became evident to all of them that the kids were just that, kids. Fourteen or fifteen and turned into werewolves. Some of them had better control than others, Jackson struggled a lot with keeping his temper, Derek helped to teach him how to control the wolf even at the worst of times, he also installed a few cells in the basement for the wolves to be shut in if the necessity arose, to protect themselves as well as others.

They all moved in, it had started out temporary, but within a few weeks it was obvious to all involved that it would be a permanent fixture. The house was full of life, food always in the fridge, someone always talking or laughing or joking. They went for regular runs, glad when eventually all of the pack could turn into full wolves at will. 

Melissa and John got along really well, Melissa told them about how her husband, Scott’s father, had left them a few years previously and she’d been on her own since. It was easy to see why the teenagers had all gone to her, she was warm and full of love and always gave the best hugs and advice, not to mention her chocolate chip cookies were to die for. Eventually Laura told them about the fire, about the people lost in it. There were a few tears shed that day but it only seemed to bring them all closer. 

Derek couldn’t help but think John and Melissa would be good together, he often thought about speaking to John about it but then he’d see John fiddling with the wedding ring that he still wore and decided against it. 

When Derek was twenty-two Allison Argent moved to town with her father Chris. Derek and Peter were determined to go and beat Kate’s whereabouts out of Chris but Laura forbade it. She said that they would all be on guard, but they were under no circumstances to start a war. Derek had gone for a long run that day. 

Scott was in love with Allison, he was always talking about her and it drove Derek slightly crazy. Scott could talk for hours about the colour of her eyes or her hair or her skin. Derek was seriously contemplating knocking himself out somehow just so he didn’t have to listen anymore. 

After a few months Derek began to relax, he’d never trust Allison the way Scott did, but she’d been over to the house more than a few times, along with her father and they’d reached a truce of sorts. It was fragile and Derek wasn’t sure if it would hold together, but he would try and that was all he could do.

Everything fell apart one Friday, the day that he was supposed to pick Erica, Lydia and Cora up after school, the boys were staying late for practice. He’d parked in the car park and he could see Erica, Lydia, Cora and Allison all come through the school doors. Allison stepped off to the side her face lit up with surprise, throwing her arms around a boy near them and grinning wildly. He could see Erica, Lydia and Cora all look at the teenager and then smile at him. Derek could kind of understand why, the guy was more than a little bit gorgeous, he was tall and lean, Derek was sure that muscles were hidden under the slightly loose t-shirt, he had short dark brown hair, just long enough that Derek could imagine tangling his fingers in it, he was pale but not unhealthily so and he had a smattering of moles that made him look adorable, he had a wide smile and was talking excitedly to Allison, the rest of the girls eyeing him up and Derek felt a little sorry for the guy.

After five minutes of waiting he got out of the car and walked towards them, he wanted to get home and work on his latest design. He was about ten foot away when the wind changed directions and he got the scent of the guy and he saw red. He couldn’t stop himself from moving towards the guy and shoving him into the wall.

“Derek!” The girls called out in horror, “Stop!” Derek couldn’t stop himself, this guy, he reeked of Kate, he reeked of her, of her scent, the same one that had surrounded his house as it burned. He’d been about to punch the guy when he’d darted out of the way and then suddenly Derek had his arm yanked backwards and he was falling to the ground. 

He swivelled at the last second but the other guy was too fast and still managed to elbow him in the side of the head. 

“Tom!” Allison was shouting, “Stop! Both of you stop!” Derek roared in rage and lunged at Tom who moved just out of Derek’s reach and the next thing Derek knew he had a knife pressed to his throat. There was silence. Derek looked up at Tom, who’s amber eyes were wide and glaring at him as if he was weighing up which choice to make. Just when Derek was sure his throat was about to get cut wide open, Erica appeared behind Tom and smashed a stone into his head, knocking him out instantly. 

“Erica!” Allison cried in despair, rushing over to Tom.

“He was going to kill Derek. You saw that.” Erica said and Derek nodded gratefully in her direction before glaring at the boy on the ground. 

“He’s just unconscious. I’ll take him home.” Allison said.

“No way. He stinks of your aunt. I want to know where she is.” Derek said. 

“He’s my cousin!” She shouted, “Of course he’s going to smell of my aunt and so what if he does?” Allison said, “What are you going to do? Kidnap him and hold him hostage until he confesses her location?” She snarled sarcastically. 

“That sounds like a good plan actually.” Cora said and Allison looked at her in horror.

“We’re not kidnapping my cousin!” Allison hissed, looking around to see if anyone was looking in their direction. Derek took the opportunity to pick Tom up and carry him towards the car, the rest hurrying to catch him up. Allison grabbed the knife up from the ground and then hurried after him, Cora opened the trunk and Derek dropped him carelessly inside, not really caring if it gave him a few extra bumps and bruises, god knows the guy deserved it.

Derek was glad that nobody else was in the house when they got back, he was sure he’d never have been able to get Tom down to the cages without somebody stopping him to argue. He dumped him on the cold concrete ground, again not caring when he landed with a thump. When Tom started to stir Derek punched him viciously in the face, knocking him out again, and then searched him for any more weapons. The others watched in amazement as Derek managed to find a small collection of weapons. He pulled Tom’s shoes off and took his jacket and then slammed the gate shut and locked it.

“Derek,” Allison pleaded as they headed back upstairs, “Come on, he’s just a kid, he’s our age, you can’t just kidnap him.”

“He’s a hunter that tried to kill me.” Derek snarled.

“After you attacked him first.” Cora said, sounding a bit bored by the whole thing. 

“Yeah, well, he stinks of Kate.” Derek said and Allison rolled her eyes. 

“I told you, he’s my cousin.” 

“And I’ve told you, we’ll use him to find Kate, the scent is fresh so he can’t have been separated from her for long. Then she can pay for burning my family alive.” Derek snarled and Allison backed down. 

“Alright fine.” Allison said, “But you don’t need to hurt him. He’s a kid. He didn’t burn your family. Kate did.”

Laura and Peter chose that moment to walk through the door and looked around the room.

“What’s going on?” Laura asked and Derek sighed.

“Derek kidnapped my cousin Tom and put him in a cage downstairs.” Allison said and Laura glared at him.

“He attacked me.” Derek said. “He was going to kill me.” Laura sighed heavily, “He also stinks of Kate. The same scent that was there the day of the fire.” They both moved past him and headed down the stairs, reappearing a few minutes late their faces drawn tight with righteous anger.

“Fine, we’ll use him to find Kate. Then we end this.” Laura snarled. Derek nodded in agreement. 

The rest of the pack arrived home a little later and Laura sat them down and told them what had happened, Derek pulled out the collection of weapons to show them that Tom might look innocent but he was a hunter, a monster.

“Hey!” Derek heard Tom shouting a few hours later, followed by the rattling of the cage door. “Hey! Let me out!” He continued to shout until eventually they all went down the staircase and into the basement. 

Tom had a large bruise cross the side of his face from where Derek had punched him and a small trickle of blood at the back of his head where Erica had hit him. Derek could almost believe that the kid was innocent, until he inhaled and all he could smell was Kate. John was stunned for a moment looking at the boy, it was like looking into an exact replica of Claudia’s eyes, he shook it off a moment later when he recalled the weapons upstairs and the fact that he’d tried to kill Derek.

“Tell us where Kate is.” Peter growled and Tom glared at him.

“Not a chance.” He said, taking a step away from the bars, “Now, are you going to let me out of here?” Peter laughed.

“Not a chance.” Peter replied, throwing Tom’s words back at him, stepping closer to the bars and baring his teeth, “Now, you can tell us where Kate is or we can beat it out of you, the choice is yours.” Tom looked around at the pack, hoping for a bit of sympathy, he stared at Allison who refused to meet his gaze and stared at the floor in shame. Tom’s lip curled in disgust.

“I’ve always like a good beating.” Tom replied, shifting his stance slightly, ready to fight them the moment they stepped into the cage. Derek put a hand out to stop Peter, Tom was a better fighter than he looked, Derek knew that. He’d be dead if Erica hadn’t stopped him.

“Don’t.” Derek said, striding over to the heating and turning it off. He grabbed a bucket and filled it with ice cold water before returning to the cage and throwing it over Tom who only blinked at him in confusion. “Pretty soon it’s going to get really fucking cold in here. Now, you can tell us where Kate is and we’ll fetch you some nice, warm, dry clothes or you can sit here until you decide to tell us where she is.” 

Tom’s face broke into a smile and it unnerved Derek slightly. 

“Seriously?” Tom said, starting to laugh. “That’s your grand plan? Oh my god, I’ve had colder baths than this.” Tom said, Derek ignored the way that their breath was starting to appear in white puffs in the room. They retreated up to the kitchen with Tom still laughing in the basement and Derek shut the door hoping to block it out. 

“He’s just a kid.” John and Melissa both said at the same time, looking uneasily at each other.

“He’s a kid that tried to kill Derek. He’s Kate’s kid. He’s obviously unhinged.” Laura said and nobody disagreed with her. “We’ll leave him down there for a couple of hours. He’ll break eventually.” She said finally.

They sat in the front room and watched a film, although it was evident that nobody was actually watching it, instead they were all thinking about Tom in the basement. 

“We should go check on him.” John said a little while later, “It’s been two hours, he’s only human.” He pleaded and Derek nodded, following Peter, John and Laura down the stairs. 

“Back already?” Tom asked, he was sat on the floor, his knees tucked into his chest, he was very pale, the blood at the back of his neck standing out starkly against his skin, he was shivering but trying hard to hide it, Derek couldn’t help but be impressed with his determination, or stubbornness, he wasn’t sure which. Derek knew that even the wolves, that ran at a much higher temperature than humans, would be cold by this point. 

“Tell us where she is and we’ll let you go.” John said, “Come on kid, this isn’t worth dying over.” He added, trying to add fatherly concern in his voice.

“But it’s worth killing over?” Tom retorted glaring at them all with disgust.

“She killed our family.” Peter snarled.

“Maybe your family deserved it.” Tom replied, smirking when Peter lunged at him through the bars. “Oh, hit a sore spot have I?” He grinned and Derek growled. He took a moment to control his anger and strolled back to the bucket. He could feel Tom’s eyes on him as he refilled the bucket and although Derek could sense that Tom didn’t want him to, there were no outward signs. Tom just glared at him, unmoving as Derek threw another bucket of cold water at him. 

“Let’s leave him a bit longer.” Laura said, “Maybe next time you’ll have a better answer.” She added.

“Maybe next time you’ll have an intelligent question, or is that beyond the hopes of possibility?” Tom retorted sarcastically and Derek couldn’t help but be a little bit amazed at his strength. 

They left him for three hours this time. Allison left part way through, her dad was calling her and Laura made her promise not to tell him what was going on.

“Fine. But if he hasn’t told you what you need to know by tomorrow morning then we’re letting him go.” Allison said determinedly and Laura thought for a moment before nodding.

When they went back down this time Tom was outright shivering, his teeth chattering together noisily, his body wracked with shivers. 

“Tell us where she is.” Derek growled.

“Go fetch a stick Fido.” Tom replied and Derek snarled. “I’m not telling you anything. So you can kill me or let me go. I don’t care. Just make up your minds already.” Tom said, his voice slurring slightly.

“Alright, enough.” John said, striding towards the cage until Peter stepped in his path.

“We’re going to get an answer out of him.” Peter said. 

“He’s a kid!” John replied. “He’s the same age as Scott, as Cora, could you imagine someone doing this to one of them?” 

“We need to know where she is.” Laura insisted. 

“Fine. But not like this!” John said, “Not if you kill him before he tells us anything.” Derek glanced at the boy in the cage. 

“He’ll break before then.” Derek said bending to scoop up the bucket, trying to ignore the whimper of fear that Tom let out this time. That was good, it meant he was close to breaking. He would break. They just had to push through. He threw a third bucket of water over the boy and Tom let out a sharp gasp of pain before glaring at Derek.

“If you want me to compete in a wet t-shirt contest, you’re going the wrong way about it.” He said, although some of the effect of the statement was lost through the chattering teeth. Peter hid a smirk behind his hand and Derek glared at him.

“You won’t have such a smart mouth if another few hours.” Derek replied before stomping up the steps, the others trailing after him. 

“What if he doesn’t break?” John said as soon as the door was closed. “He’s going to die. You could live with that on your conscious?” John asked and they all paused before eventually shaking their heads.

“We’ll give him an hour.” Laura said, “If he doesn’t break by then, then I guess we come up with a new plan.” 

“Which is what?” Peter asked, “Smile and ask him nicely? Or maybe we let him go and then watch him run off and tell Kate where we are?”

“I think she probably already knows where we are.” Derek said. “The problem is we don’t know where she is, or if we can defend against her this time. Although, if we’ve got her kid, then she probably wouldn’t risk attacking in case we hurt him.”

“Okay, that’s a good point. Maybe we can send her a message.” Peter said, “A finger perhaps?” 

“We’re not cutting the kids fingers off!” John hissed outraged.

By the time the next hour was up they were all pacing relentlessly around the front room. Laura had sent the younger ones to bed around eleven and surprisingly they had agreed, it was obvious that none of them agreed with harassing Tom, no matter who he was related to. 

When they went back down the shivering had stopped, Derek knew that was bad. Shivering meant the body was still trying to function, when that stops it meant your whole body was shutting down.

“Tell us where she is.” Laura said forcibly. Tom didn’t say anything, just glared at them through hooded eyes.

“I’ve had enough of this.” Peter said, wrenching open the door and storming into the cage. “Tell me where she is!” He shouted, pulling Tom up by the scruff of his soaking shirt. Derek wasn’t sure where Tom found the strength from but Tom lashed out viciously with his fist and Peter stumbled back a few steps in surprise. 

Derek wanted to step in but Peter growled at him when he made to step forwards. Tom didn’t move, just studied Peter, as if trying to assess his weaknesses. Derek didn’t really think it was a fair fight, Tom had to be starving and freezing and no doubt on his last legs, Peter had rage on his side not to mention the fact he was a werewolf. 

However, Tom surprised them all by getting in a few good blows before Peter finally managed to land a few hits. The one that connected with Tom’s side was strong and Derek heard the ribs crack. The next blow hit him in the temple and he went down hard. Peter was standing over him, blood covering his knuckles and a wild look in his eyes that Derek had only seen once before.

“Tell me where she is!” Peter raged, hitting Tom again and splitting his lip open. Tom’s eyes were barely focused but he managed a small smirk.

“Fuck you.” He snarled as Peter hit him again and this time it knocked him back into unconsciousness. Derek stepped into the cage and pulled Peter away from Tom, studying the boy lying limp on the floor. 

“He’s not going to break.” John said from the doorway, “If you leave him here he’ll be dead in the morning. What is your plan exactly?” 

“Maybe we should let him die.” Peter said, wiping away a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth, “Make Kate feel the pain we felt.” 

“You act like he did something wrong.” John said, “This kid would have been what? Three? Four? When Kate set the fire. He’s an innocent in this. He didn’t set the fire. And we can’t help who we’re related to.”

“He still attacked Derek.” Laura said, “Not to mention that he’s too loyal to Kate to tell us anything.”

“Would you hand your family over to people you knew were going to hurt them?” John asked and Derek blushed.

“This is different. Our family did nothing wrong, your family did nothing wrong. Kate did and she needs to pay.” Derek snarled. 

“Well, if he’s dead you can’t make her suffer can you?” John said, moving over next to Tom and starting to pick him up, flinching away when he felt the ice coldness of Tom’s skin.

Derek sighed heavily but helped John pick Tom up and they stumbled upstairs. Derek put him down on one of the kitchen chairs and then watched as Peter placed heavy chains around his wrists and ankles. John put a blanket over him and then they sat down to wait. 

Derek was worried for a while, worried that Tom might not wake up, that they’d killed him by accident, but eventually colour began to return to his cheeks and he began to stir and then he looked around the kitchen blearily before finally his gaze settled on the four of them. 

“Great.” He said rolling his eyes, his voice cracking with disuse, “I’d really hoped that was all a dream. No such luck.”

“Unfortunately not.” Laura said, watching as Tom tested the chains holding him in place. 

“So what now? New form of torture? Don’t tell me I have to listen to you lot talk instead?” Tom said and Derek tried not to break the table in his anger.

“Actually, yes.” John said, “We want to know where your mother is.” 

“My mother?” Tom said looking shocked momentarily.

“Yes. Kate. Tell us where she is and we’ll let you go.” 

“Kate is not my mother.” Tom said condescendingly, “My mother was murdered by werewolves in cold blood. So excuse me if I’m not going to hand over Kate to you to watch you do the same to her.” 

“I’m sorry.” John said, “I’m sorry about your mother. That must have been awful.” Tom shrugged.

“I don’t know. I can’t remember it.” Tom said dismissively.

“Well, still,” John said, feeling a bit unsure of how to proceed, the kid was making him unsteady, nothing he would usually say in these situations seemed to be working. “It must have been a bad time for you.”

“Cut the sympathy crap.” Tom said, “I’m not going to tell you anything. You might as well just kill me.” 

“We’ve all lost people too.” John continued, “There was a fire, nearly thirteen years ago now. Kate started it. It killed a lot of the pack, it killed my family.” John said slowly, he was sure there was a flicker of emotion on Tom’s face before he shut down again and gritted his teeth together.

“Maybe they deserved it.” Tom said and Laura snarled, flashing her eyes at Tom.

“Our family was innocent.” 

“Doesn’t seem that way to me.” Tom replied. “You sure as hell don’t act like innocent people.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Laura spat out.

“Seriously?” Tom raised an incredulous eyebrow, “Eyebrows over here attacks me when I’m trying to talk to my cousin. Then another one of you hits me in the head with a rock. You kidnap me and throw me in a cage where you proceed to see if my body parts will miraculously regrow after frostbite and then Creeper number two decides to beat the shit out of me.” He paused and looked at them with disgust, “Now what? You want to try and be buddies? Swap sob stories? Make me hand over the person who hurt you despite the fact that I’m only alive because of her? Tell me something, which one of us is the innocent party here?” 

“You tried to kill me.” Derek hissed angrily.

“Yeah, and you attacked me first. What did you want me to do? Wait until after you’d torn my throat out to start trying to defend myself?” Tom retorted. There was silence in the room as they processed his words and Derek suddenly felt his face heating up with shame. His parents would be ashamed of him. “So, are you going to kill me or let me go? Because quite frankly I’ve had enough of acting like I could give two shits about any of this.” Laura studied him for a moment, the way his body was still shivering despite the fact that the house was much warmer than downstairs.

“Peter, take Tom to go get a shower, he can warm up, have a dry set of clothes. Then we’ll look at your injuries and go from there.” Tom looked at her in surprise before closing his mouth and leaning back in the chair.

“No thanks.” He said, “I’m giving you the options. Kill me or let me go.”

“At the moment I’m leaning towards killing you.” Laura snarled, “So why don’t you go get a shower while John and Derek try to change my mind.”

“I don’t really care.” Tom replied casually, “You can kill me if you want, wouldn’t be the first time I’ve thought about it.” There was a shocked silence before Laura finally found her voice again.

“Peter, get him out of here, now.” She ordered and Peter pulled Tom from the seat easily and pushed him towards the nearest bathroom. 

As soon as they were in the bathroom Tom turned towards him, Peter couldn’t help but admire the boy, he looked strong, lean, fit, plus his mouth looked like it was designed for sucking cock.

“You know, perhaps we could reach some kind of agreement between ourselves?” Peter drawled, eyeing Tom’s body hungrily.

“Oh,” Tom said, his voice lacking any kind of emotion, “Yeah. I guess we could.” He continued, licking his lips nervously, and Peter felt a small thrill of desire that the guy would actually submit so easily to him. 

He moved forwards, slowly backing him towards the wall and Tom glanced down at the chains still around his wrists before sighing heavily.

“We do this and you let me go?” Tom asked and Peter nodded, tracking the movement of Tom’s tongue as he licked his lips again. “Okay then.” Tom said. Peter smirked, leaning forwards and capturing Tom’s lips with his. 

Peter moved forward, pressing his body flush against Tom’s, tangling his hands in his short hair, forcing his tongue into Tom’s mouth, revelling in the hiss of pain the boy made when his injuries were aggravated. Peter ran his hand along Tom’s bare arm, and because he wasn’t a complete bastard, decided to draw some of the pain from him. 

He wasn’t expecting to be nearly knocked over with the force of it. The boy was in agony. Tom looked up at Peter, unsure why Peter had pulled away. Peter looked at him, the guy looked gorgeous, his lips slightly swollen from where Peter had kissed him, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Peter moved forwards grabbing hold of Tom’s shirt and ripping it quickly.

“Hey!” Tom squeaked, “What the hell are you doing!” He exclaimed, trying to cover himself as best he could with the chains.

“Laura!” Peter shouted and he soon heard footsteps approaching at a rush as Laura, Derek and John barrelled into the room.

“Are you okay?” John said, seemingly checking Peter for injuries while Derek slammed Tom into the wall to stop him from moving. 

“I’m fine.” Peter insisted, unable to tear his eyes away from the injuries under Tom’s shirt. Derek followed his gaze and as soon as he realized just how injured Tom was he backed off. 

“What the hell?” Derek muttered, “We didn’t do this.” He said and Tom glared at them. 

“Oddly enough, I know that. Now, if you don’t mind, me and Creeper here had an agreement.”

“My name is Peter.” Peter said, “And I hardly think that’s going to happen now, not considering the pain you are in.” 

“Okay, Peter,” Tom snarled his name, “Firstly, you don’t just back out on a deal. You said you’d let me go, I held up my end, it’s not my fault it you suddenly get skittish. And two, if I’m standing upright and walking then surely my pain levels are my problem not yours. And finally, if you could all stop fucking staring that would be brilliant!” Tom raged and Derek actually had the decency to look away. 

“Tom,” John started, “Who did this to you?” He waved in the direction of the injuries, bruises that were a hideous patchwork covering almost all of his stomach and chest, fresh pink scars in a multitude of places, barely healed burn marks, not to mention the two broken ribs thanks to Peter, plus the split lip, bruised face and several knocks to the head. He looked like he’d been in a car crash. 

“Not your problem. Now, are we sticking to our deal or not?” Tom said, directing his glare at Peter who blushed brightly. 

“What was your deal exactly?” Laura said through gritted teeth and Peter blushed brighter. “The only person you make deals with is the Alpha, and that isn’t Peter.” She said to Tom and he studied her for a moment before nodding. 

“Alright, fine. I guess you’re the Alpha then? You want the same deal then you can have it.” He turned to look at Derek and John then, “And, although I’m pretty sure it’s not, I guess if it’s one of you, you have the same deal.” He said, Derek could see Tom flush slightly when he looked at John, disgust creeping into his scent.

“I’m the Alpha.” Laura said, apparently putting Tom’s mind at ease.

“Thank god.” Tom sighed, “Like, no offense dude,” Tom continued to John, “But Peter is old enough, you are way out of my comfort zone.”  
“What was the deal?” Laura snarled, ignoring his outburst and studying Tom, his lips were a bit swollen, hair slightly messed up and the slight scent of her Uncles’ arousal that had filled the room before they had arrived, “Oh.” She said a moment later as she caught up and if possible Peter blushed even brighter. John and Derek both raised an eyebrow and Laura tried not to laugh at how embarrassed Peter was. 

“Oh.” Derek said a minute later, his voice dropping in surprise and for some reason, his stomach was doing flips, he couldn’t quite place the emotion, maybe jealousy, maybe shame for felling that way. After all, hadn’t Tom just told them that they were monsters, hadn’t he just proven had guilty they all were, then Peter just lowered the standards even more by suggesting sex as a way to get out of here. 

“Oh. Eww.” John said, the word long and drawn out, “That’s messed up.” He said, shaking his head slightly, “You’re the same age as Scott. Peter, what the hell were you thinking? One, as if I need to say it, Tom is underage and two, you tried to bribe him to have sex with you!?” John said outraged, Peter had the grace to shrug and blush. "You are lucky that I haven't arrested you already." John said before turning to Tom, "If you want to press charges?" He asked.

"For what?" Tom shrugged. 

"For what!?" John repeated incredulous, "Tom, Peter had no right whatsoever to even suggest anything like that!"

"Well it wasn't like I turned him down." Tom said

"He was blackmailing you!" John shouted, "It shouldn't have ever come up and I can't tell you how sorry I am and how disappointed I am in Peter right now." Peter hung his head in shame, apparently not stupid enough to even try to defend his actions.

"Well, I'm not planning on pressing charges but thanks for the offer."

"Fine, but you," John pointed at Peter, "If you ever even think of something like this again, with Tom, or anyone else, I'll find a way to cut your balls off and make sure they don't regrow. Do I make myself clear?" John snarled

"Yes sir." Peter replied, obviously distraught that John was so mad at him and also that he'd done something so awful though thinking twice about it. There was an awkward few minutes silence before Laura cleared her throat. 

“I’m not going to sleep with you.” Laura said, “No matter how much the idea appeals to me.” She said, her eyes raking up and down Tom’s body. 

“Alright, fine, now that we've cleared up who isn't sleeping with whom.” Tom said, still not moving away from the wall, “Let's clarify, what exactly is your plan here? Because if you’re going to kill me I really don’t see the need for a shower and if you’re going to let me go then I’d like to leave.” 

“We’re not going to kill you.” Laura said firmly and Derek felt himself relax slightly, “But you’re not going anywhere either. You need medical attention.” Tom scoffed.

“And what? You’re going to offer it to me in between beatings?” 

“No.” Laura said, “Nobody will lay a hand on you again. But if you try to run…”

“You’ll set your wolves on me?” Tom laughed, “Please, feel free. I’d rather be torn to shreds than stay here.” 

“We’re not all like the monsters who killed your mother.” Laura said, “Allison spends a lot of time here and she likes us.”

“Allison is naive.” Tom retorted. 

“And yet, she’s been pack for six months and she’s never been injured.” Laura replied calmly. 

“Congratulations. Shall we have a party for not killing her yet?” 

“John has been pack for nearly twenty years and he’s not dead yet either.” Laura continued. 

“Let’s throw up some streamers and balloons then!” Tom snarled.

“Look, all I’m trying to say is, you’ve probably been told a lot of information over the years, stuff about us, about werewolves, that is biased. Just hear me out,” Laura said when it looked like Tom was about to argue, “Give us twenty-four hours, with an open mind, just let us show you what we’re really like, please, just twenty-four hours?” Laura pleaded and Tom studied her for a minute before finally nodding tightly. “Good, okay, well, first things first, you need to get a shower, then we’ll patch you up and you can get some sleep.”

“Fine.” Tom snarled, “Any chance of taking these chains off then?” 

“I’ll take off the ankles, but the wrist ones are staying on, at least until we can trust you.” Laura said. 

“That’s going to take longer than twenty-four hours.” Tom replied and Laura smiled.

“Probably.” She said, “Now, get a shower. John, why don’t you go fetch Tom some spare clothes? Derek, will you stay in here and make sure Tom doesn’t get any ideas? My uncle and I need to have a chat.” Laura said dragging Peter from the room and leaving an awkward silence behind her. 

As soon as the door was shut Laura rounded on Peter, digging her claws into his arm and dragging him towards the back of the house.

"I'm going to make this perfectly clear to you Peter," She hissed angrily, "If I ever catch you alone with him again, if I ever even suspect something like this is going to happen again, then you will be more than sorry. I am trying to protect this pack, if we can convince him we aren't monsters then maybe we stand a chance, you risked that, you risked the safety of our pack, for the chance to maybe have sex with a minor!? I can't begin to understand your logic, I can't begin to understand what you were thinking. But let me make sure you understand me," She said, her eyes flashing red, "If you ever do anything like this again you will be out of the pack. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes." Peter said submissively, his face flushed with shame and Laura could smell the guilt coming off him in waves.

"Good." She replied before turning on her heel back towards the kitchen hoping this would be an end to the matter.

They stood in silence for a moment in the bathroom, Derek listening to Laura to make sure that she made her point clearly to Peter. “I’ll go fetch some clothes.” John said and stepped quickly out of the room. Tom stood unmoving before Derek eventually sighed. 

“Alright, sit on the toilet, I’ll undo the chains.” 

“Why don’t you just bend down?” Tom replied.

“And have you kick me in the face as soon as you’re free? Oddly enough I don’t really think that’s a great idea.”

“Why would I?” Tom replied. “There’s a house full of werewolves. I’m good but I’m not that good.” 

“Just sit down and shut up.” Derek growled and Tom moved over to the toilet and sat down. Derek undid the chains quickly and then motioned for Tom to move towards the shower.

“You really want to watch me strip?” Tom taunted arching his eyebrow and Derek glared at him.

“Just get on with it. Laura might be stupid enough to trust you but I don’t. So I’m not turning my back on you. Now get on with it already.” 

“I think I’ll just keep what’s left of my clothes on then, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Do what you want, just get in the shower.” Derek snarled. Tom stepped into the cubicle and a moment later Derek heard the shower turn on and hot steam soon filled the room. John reappeared a few moments later with some of his dry clothes and put them on the sink. 

“Thank you.” Tom said from behind the curtain. 

“No problem kid. You want to pass me your other clothes and I’ll get them in the dryer?” 

“Can I have a bit of privacy?” Tom asked as the shower turned off and he stepped out of the cubicle. Derek was stunned into silence at the sight of him, water dripping off him, making his jeans cling tightly to his legs, his ripped shirt sticking to his body. Derek was going to hell, he couldn’t think these kind of thoughts, not about somebody who loved Kate. Although, he could completely understand why his uncle had made such an offer, Derek was seriously considering making his own offer right about now. 

“No.” Derek growled, “I don’t trust you not to attack us when our backs our turned.” He added as an explanation and Tom gritted his teeth together, clenching his hands into fists before finally relaxing them. 

“Fine.” He said before managing to pull off the remains of his t-shirt and his jeans. 

“Here.” John said, handing Tom a towel which he took gratefully. The injuries were more apparent now, the bruising carried onto his back, there were bruises and scars along his legs, his back was covered in scars as if he’d been whipped. “Jesus kid.” John whistled when Tom turned around to grab the clothes and John got a good look at his back. “What happened?” 

Tom blushed brightly and pulled on the joggers that John had given him. “Nothing.” Tom replied. 

“That’s not nothing.” John said.

“It is to me. Now, are you going to unchain me so I can put this shirt on or do I just have to wander around half naked for your entertainment?” Tom asked, holding out his hands, Derek tried not to think about how good Tom would look chained up in his bed. God, he didn’t even know where that thought had come from, he blushed slightly but neither of them seemed to notice it before Derek managed to get it under control.

“We’re going to look at your injuries first, then I’ll unchain you so you can put the t-shirt on.” Derek said and he was pretty impressed with how even his voice sounded. 

“Fine. Let’s get it over with then.” Tom said, gripping the t-shirt tightly and padding lightly towards the door. As soon as he’d stepped out of the bathroom John walked in front of him, leading the way back to the kitchen. Peter, Laura and Melissa were waiting for them and Derek didn’t miss the way that both Peter and Laura looked at Tom like they were thinking of all the things they could do to him. Derek fought an insane urge to growl that Tom was his territory. Derek pushed Tom down into the nearest seat, ignoring the way that Tom flinched from his touch. 

Melissa came towards them, studying the injuries on Tom and then glancing up to meet his eyes. 

“Can I ask how this happened?” She said and Tom studied her for a moment.

“A good chunk of it was caused by your werewolf friends.” Tom said and Melissa nodded.

“And the rest?” 

“Accident.” Tom said slowly. Derek could hear the lie in his heartbeat. 

“We can tell when you lie.” Laura said and Tom scowled before settling his mouth in a firm line, clearly stating silently that he wouldn’t answer any more questions. 

Melissa tended to the injuries in silence and Derek was impressed when Tom didn’t even flinch in the slightest. He was strong, stronger than Derek had given him credit for. Now that he’d showered, he didn’t smell as much like Kate and Derek liked that, he even smelt a little like John, but then Tom was wearing John’s clothes so that didn’t really surprise him. He still wanted to go stick Tom back under the shower until he’d got rid of her scent completely. 

Tom refused any painkillers and Melissa sighed wearily.

“Well, if you are sure?” She said, hoping he’d change his mind, knowing he’d sleep better with the painkillers.

“I’m sure.” Tom said, no lie this time. 

“Alright.” Laura said, snatching the keys from Derek and undoing the wrist cuffs. “Here.” She said handing Tom the t-shirt and he slipped it over his head gratefully before she cuffed his wrists again. “Come on, I’ll show you somewhere you can sleep.” She said, leading Tom into the front room and indicating one of the sofas, Tom eyed it with distaste before moving and sitting in one of the less padded chairs they owned. “You won’t be able to sleep very well there.” Laura advised.

“Good.” Tom replied, “I don’t trust that you won’t kill me in my sleep.” He said and Peter snarled. “Plus,” He added, “You aren’t supposed to sleep once you’ve taken a few hits to the head. Surely you guys know that right?” He taunted and Derek felt immediately guilty over the injuries he’d inflicted. Tom was human, he didn’t heal like them. No matter what his relationship with Kate, he shouldn’t have been so rough with him. 

“I’m sorry.” Derek said and Tom looked up startled. 

“What for?” Tom said surprised.

“For attacking you. I shouldn’t have done it. The last time I smelt that scent I was watching my home burn with my family trapped inside. It’s no excuse. I still shouldn’t have done it, but I wanted to say I’m sorry.” 

“Wow.” Tom said sarcastically, “I feel so much better now, it’s like my injuries have miraculously healed. Thanks.” He said, shifting slightly in his seat before closing his eyes. “I’m going to fake going to sleep now because I really don’t want to talk to any of you any longer.” He said before turning away from them slightly and ignoring them. 

“Okay. I’ll take first watch.” Laura said, “You guys head to bed.” 

“No Laura, you’ve had a long day.” John said, “I’ll watch him. You go to bed; I’ll wake you up later on.” There were a few mumbled arguments before eventually they all disappeared and left John with Tom.

They sat in silence for a while before John cleared his throat and Tom turned to glare at him. 

“You know; my kid would be around your age now.” John started, unwilling to look at the eyes that were so similar to Claudia’s. “He was such a hyperactive little kid. Drove his mum up the wall sometimes. Drove me up the wall a lot more.” Tom was looking at him curiously now, “The,” John paused, clearing his throat again, “The fire killed them both. My wife was the pack emissary; she was a druid. She loved this pack. The day they died, it felt like my whole world had been torn apart. Peter, Laura, Derek and Cora were the only reason I kept going. If I hadn’t had them I wouldn’t have made it. I know that.”

“I’m sorry.” Tom said after a few minutes’ silence.

“I know you said your mum was killed by wolves, but what about your dad? Where’s he?”

“I don’t know.” Tom said, trying to sound unconcerned but John could see the hurt in the boy’s eyes, “My mum,” Tom paused obviously gathering his thoughts before trying again, “I was young when it happened, people don’t usually remember things from that time anyway, but apparently I was traumatised from the whole thing, I blocked it out, I don’t remember it, don’t remember anything of my life before, don’t remember my mum or my dad, only what Kate told me, she’s shown me pictures but I don’t remember them. I probably should, but then do I really want to? Do I want to remember that she pulled me from my mum’s dying arms? She’d died trying to protect me from the wolves. Kate took me back to my dad, when he found out what had happened he didn’t want anything to do with me. Blamed me for my mum’s death. Kate took me in. Raised me to protect myself and I try to protect others.” 

“I’m sorry.” John replied, wanting to comfort Tom but not knowing how his comfort would be received. “Tom, that’s awful. I’m sorry it happened to you.” 

“Not as sorry as I am.” Tom scoffed. “You’re lucky they haven’t turned on you yet.” 

“They wouldn’t. A wolf going feral and attacking a human is rare.”

“What about a pack?” Tom asked, “My mum was murdered by a pack of wolves, how unusual is that?” He said, daring John to answer. John just stared at him in horror.

“It’s, well, it’s unheard of.” John replied, knowing he sounded as dumb as he felt, “I’ve never heard of it happening.”

“Well, I guess you guys really live a sheltered life then.” Tom said, rolling his eyes and turning away from John again. 

“Kid,” John said, standing up from the sofa and placing a hand on Tom’s shoulder, “Whatever you think you know about us, you’re wrong. Give us a chance and we’ll show you.” Tom rolled his eyes again but didn’t say anything and John counted that as a win. “I’m going to get someone else to come sit with you now. Think you can manage not to run for two minutes?” 

Tom grinned slightly and it made John’s heart melt slightly. “So long as it isn’t uncle creeper. I do not want to go making any more deals with that guy.” John choked back a laugh.

“Alright then, no Peter it is.” He said disappearing up the stairs to find Laura already sat at the top of them. He passed her silently, offering her a brief pat on the shoulder before she headed downstairs and he headed to bed.

Laura sat in silence for a while before she finally started to chat away, about her career, her family, how much she loved Derek and Cora, how Peter wound her up sometimes but that she wouldn’t change him for the world. She talked about the other Beta’s, how they’d been bitten and their Alpha had left them behind. 

She knew Tom was listening, even if he never said a word in reply. She talked about her favourite movies and music, how she loved to go out for a run with her pack. She knew that some of these things could be used against her, but she also, for some completely unknown reason, trusted that Tom wouldn’t betray them. She prayed she was right. 

Sometime later, in the early hours of the morning, Tom fell asleep, she heard his breathing even out, his heart beat settle and a little while after that she heard soft snores. It was adorable. She moved over to the chair silently, studying the sleeping boy in front of her, she decided moving him wouldn’t be a great idea, it would probably aggravate his injuries, instead she covered him with a blanket and headed upstairs to wake Derek. 

Derek hadn’t slept well, his mind filled with thoughts of Tom and Kate, and how he could possibly get retribution on her. When Laura knocked on the door he got up and headed downstairs. Tom was fast asleep on the chair, looking younger and more innocent somehow, the bruises looked worse than they had earlier and Derek felt guilt overwhelming him. He sat down in the chair next to Tom and reached out gently to touch the guy’s hand. As soon as he touched him Derek started drawing the pain away from Tom, it was enough to make him curse quietly under his breath, he knew he wouldn’t be able to function if he was suffering this much pain, and yet Tom had gotten up and fought and carried on going. Derek was in awe of him. 

A few hours later and Derek felt like he was going to be sick if he drew any more pain, he withdrew his hand, hoping that it would be enough to at least help Tom slightly. Tom’s eyes blinked open suddenly and he was automatically reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there before finally coming to his senses and glaring at Derek.

“What are you doing?” He hissed and Derek shrugged. He couldn’t really be bothered moving, everything ached.

“How do you feel?” Derek asked, and Tom looked at him suspiciously.

“Okay I guess.” He said answering eventually. 

“Good. I was worried you were serious about concussions and stuff.”

“I was.” Tom said seriously and Derek frowned.

“I’m sorry, again.”

“Doesn’t change the fact.” Tom replied but he seemed to be more relaxed than Derek had seen him so far. 

“No. It doesn’t.” Derek paused studying Tom, “You look like you want to ask a million questions.”

“So do you.” Tom retorted. 

“Well, ask away.” Derek replied.

“Alright, one condition,” Tom said holding out his hand as if waiting for Derek to take it. Derek looked at it in confusion before moving slightly and letting Tom take his hand. Tom flipped his hand and circled his wrist, pressing down on his pulse point. “Your name is Derek?”

“Yes.” Derek replied, slightly amused. 

“You live here?” 

“Yes.” Derek said again.

“You have blonde hair?” Derek looked at him in confusion, “You have to lie on this one.” 

“Erm, yes.” Derek said again and Tom nodded. 

“Okay. Seems only fair that I get to know when you are lying too? Right?” 

“Yeah I guess.” Derek said, trying not to stare at Tom’s hand and the current sting of arousal racing through Derek’s body. 

“Okay. So, have you ever murdered a human being?” Tom said diving right in there and Derek looked at him astonished.

“No. Of course not.” He snarled and Tom seemed to consider him for a moment. “How did you really get all those injuries?” Derek retorted, they were both going for the big questions first it seemed. Tom stared at him for a moment, as if judging if he was worthy of the answer and Derek tried to look as innocent as possible.

“Training gets too rough sometimes.” Tom said, shrugging casually. Derek knew he wasn’t lying. “Have any members of your pack ever murdered a human?” 

“No.” Derek said again, “Not this pack and not my family before Kate murdered them.” He said, trying not to growl her name. “Is Kate in town?”

“She was planning on coming here.” Tom said honestly, “I don’t know if she’s here yet or not. Are you going to kill her?”

“Yes.” Derek said without hesitation, “She murdered my family without a single reason. Are you going to tell her what you know of the pack?” Tom paused.

“I don’t think so.” He said, “It’s not my intention to tell her unless you provide me with a reason to.” There was a lull for a moment as Derek thought that statement over.

“Why?” He asked and Tom smiled.

“It’s my turn.” He said quickly, avoiding the question, “Can you really go full wolf?” 

“Yes.” Derek replied quickly, “Why wouldn’t you tell Kate?” Tom shrugged casually, trying to hide the slight wince of pain from him.

“Sometimes,” Tom said eventually, thinking through his words carefully, “I don’t think she always has the most logical answers. I can understand that you saw me as a hunter who was invading your territory and perhaps a threat to your pack. I can also see that other than a pretty simple beating you haven’t caused any lasting damage. Kate won’t see that. She’ll use this as a reason to attack you. So unless you give me a reason to, unless I think your pack is actually a danger to humans, then I don’t think blood needs to be spilt.” 

“How do you know we aren’t a danger to humans?” Derek said and Tom smirked again.

“Always jumping in with your questions aren’t you?” He replied and Derek couldn’t help but grin slightly. “Can the rest of the pack turn into wolves?”

“Yes. Apart from John, Melissa, Lydia and Allison. How do you know we aren’t a danger to humans?” Derek pressed, trying to understand Tom as much as he could.

“I don’t. But, I’m trusting Ally’s judgement. She’s naïve, yes, but would she hang around with you guys if you were a threat to people? I don’t think she would. Maybe you hide it from her, maybe you don’t let her see what you are really like. But, I’ve never met any wolves who were in control enough to fully shift.” 

“I can show you some time, if you’d like?” Derek said, not sure where the offer was coming from.

“Do you still remember what it’s like to be human? You won’t decide to use me as a chew toy?” Tom asked and Derek chuckled.

“I won’t eat you. Yes, we remember who we are. It can get a bit embarrassing sometimes. One time Laura shifted in town, she had smelled an omega and wanted to check it out. The people at the pound picked her up. We spent six hours looking for her before we finally found her there. I had to put a collar on her and apologize to the staff, saying I’d make sure she had a collar on in future. She spent the next three days barely speaking to me.” Derek said and Tom looked at him in astonishment. 

“Really?” He asked and Derek nodded before they both started to laugh. Tom stopped a moment later when he moved wrong and his pain flared up. 

“You want me to take some of your pain?” Derek said and Tom looked at him in confusion.

“I’m not taking any painkillers.” He said and Derek smiled gently.

“No, werewolves have the ability to draw pain from others. Watch.” He said, starting to draw the pain from Tom slowly and Derek couldn’t tear his gaze from Tom, the way his mouth dropped open in astonishment and his eyes went wide with surprise as the black lines started to travel up Derek’s veins. 

“Does it hurt?” Tom asked a few moments later when he’d gathered himself slightly. 

“It’s uncomfortable.” Derek said, “Because our bodies heal quicker anyway, it doesn’t affect us the same way it would if a human suffered the injury. But we can still feel it.” 

“Is that how your uncle knew I was hurt earlier? He tried to draw my pain?” 

“Yes.” Derek said, not wanting to think about Peter kissing Tom. 

“Hmm,” Tom hummed thoughtfully, “Maybe he’s not as much of a creep as I thought he was. I mean, don’t get me wrong, still fairly sure he gets a kick out of stealing ice cream from children, but, yeah, not as creepy as I thought.” Derek fought back a laugh. 

“Well, if it makes you feel better, you aren’t quite the heartless hunter I had you down as either.” Derek replied and Tom frowned. 

“Well, I am.” He said, pulling his hand away from Derek’s when he heard footsteps approaching. 

“Morning.” Scott said stumbling through the front room towards the kitchen and then blinking stupidly when he saw Tom sat there, “Erm, hi.” He said waving, “I’m Scott.” 

“Hi.” Tom replied, studying the boy in front of him. 

“So, they let you out then?” Scott said and Tom smirked, flashing the chains still around his wrist. 

“Don’t worry, I’m harmless.” Tom said and Scott grinned.

“If you took down Derek without chains then I bet you could take the rest of us with them.” Scott said, taking a seat nearby. “Are you staying here then?” 

“For the day.” Tom said tensely. “Then I guess it’s back to kill me or let me go scenarios.” He said and Derek frowned, there was no way in hell he was letting anyone kill Tom. He knew it made absolutely no sense, but something about him called to Derek and there was no way he was going to let anyone hurt him if Derek had anything to do with it.

“Okay, well, I could show you around if you like?” Scott said smiling easily and Tom glanced to Derek for approval before getting up slowly to follow Scott into the kitchen.

“I’m making some breakfast; I guess you must be starving. What do you fancy?” 

“Whatever you’re having.” Tom replied nervously as Derek hovered in the doorway.

“We eat a lot.” Derek said going into the kitchen and helping Scott prepare breakfast, “Most mornings it’s cereal and a couple of rounds of toast to get us through until lunchtime, but on Saturday’s we do a cooked breakfast.” He said and Scott grinned next to him.

“Saturday is like pack day. Admittedly most Sunday’s are pack days too.” Scott said easily, “But Saturday we usually all spend the day together, we shift and go for a run, then we come back and John or Melissa has lunch cooked and then if it’s nice we spend the afternoon in the garden. We like to be outside as much as possible.”

“Because you are wolves or because you’re just outdoorsy people?” Tom asked and Scott snorted.

“Wolves.” He replied, “Jackson had never been anywhere near a tree before he got bitten, now he would sleep under them if he got the option.” 

“Oh.” Tom said slowly, obviously processing the information. “Will you be going for a run today?” 

“I don’t know.” Derek said, eyeing Tom from the corner of his eye. “Depends on if Laura thinks you can be trusted here.” 

“I could come with you?” Tom said and Scott grinned.

“No offence, but you probably couldn’t keep up with us.”

“I’m pretty fast.” Tom said, pouting slightly and Derek had to fight back the urge to laugh, it looked for a moment like Tom was going to stomp his foot in frustration.

“Not with chains on I’m betting?” Derek said and Tom glanced down at his wrists before nodding.

“Okay, fair enough. You obviously won’t take them off because you don’t trust me not to run, and you also don’t think I’m fast enough to run with you. I feel like there’s some lack in your logic there.”

“No.” Derek replied, “We’re not taking them off because we don’t trust you not to attack us. You’ve already proven just how deadly you are. If it wasn’t for Erica, I’d be dead right now. So it’s not because you might run, it’s because who knows how many of us you would kill before one of us finally managed to kill you.” Tom thought for a moment before shrugging casually.

“Alright, fine. Fair enough.” He said simply.

“Mmm, I smell bacon.” John said appearing in the kitchen and smiling at them. “Derek makes the best cooked breakfast.” John informed Tom, waving him to a seat at the table. Tom sat down cautiously, as if waiting for someone to hit him as more and more of the pack entered the kitchen for breakfast. 

Peter sat down next to Tom and inhaled deeply, smiling when it became obvious that the boy didn’t smell quite so much like Kate anymore.

“You know,” Peter began, eyeing Tom up and down, “If you ever want to continue where we left off I’d be more than happy to?” Peter said, suddenly looking horrorstruck when John, Laura and Derek snarled at him. There was a moment of silence, everyone tensing up at how Tom would react before he laughed loudly into the silence.

“Dude, you realize the only reason I let you stick your tongue down my throat was the possibility of getting out of here? Otherwise not a chance in hell, you’re like twice my age for a start. And you are creepy, you probably rip the heads of stuffed animals and sew them onto the wrong bodies.” Tom replied. The room was silent for a moment before Scott burst out into laughter, loud and bright and Tom looked at him in astonishment before everyone else joined in. Tom was blushing now and Derek wasn’t going to deny that it was absolutely the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

God, he was done for. He was absolutely and completely besotted with this boy who’d turned his world around in a matter of hours. Who was Kate’s adopted kid or whatever. If that thought didn’t deter him then he didn’t think anything would.

They ate breakfast slowly, Derek thought it was odd that things didn’t seem weird with Tom there, surely it should have done, but it didn’t. He felt like part of the family. Derek shook his head to clear his thoughts. Tom was not family. He was a hunter who nearly killed him yesterday. Just because he looked innocent didn’t mean he was and Derek needed to remember that. He could not fall for a hunter.

Tom had taken a couple of slices of toast and looked around the table nervously as if waiting for one of the wolves to suddenly tear his throat out for touching their food. Derek knew they still had a long way to go to prove to Tom they weren’t dangerous to humans. 

After breakfast they’d headed outside, Derek walking next to Tom and making sure he didn’t try anything. They stopped in the garden and Tom studied the house behind them slowly. 

“You need work doing on your warding.” Tom said quietly, obviously the whole pack still heard him and turned towards him.

“Excuse me?” Laura said, glaring at Tom for an answer.

“I was just saying you need work doing on your warding. The one’s you’ve got up don’t do enough to really protect you.”

“And you’d know that how?” Laura said, almost growling now.

“Look, don’t shoot the messenger.” Tom said holding up his hands in surrender, the chains clanking loudly in the silence, “I’m just saying, you’ve got wards above your front door, but none on your porch or windows, I don’t know about your back door, and I assume those tunnels downstairs lead somewhere which also hasn’t got warding.” Tom said and Laura glared at him to continue, “Yeah, that’s totally fine if somebody decides to attack you by going through your front door. But if they have even an ounce of intelligence they’re going to throw some smoke bombs through the windows and force you out. Not to mention, the warding that you have got up, it literally just slows people with obvious bad intentions. It won’t stop them in the long term and it sure as hell won’t last very long. I mean, seriously, who did you get to draw these? A kindergartner? How have you guys even survived this long?”

“We got a druid to draw them actually.” Laura growled, “And only other druids can see them.” She said looking at Tom with new eyes. 

“Well, you really ought to fire him or her.” Tom replied, “And I’d get somebody who actually knew what they were doing to do the rest.”

“And you would know this how?” Cora asked.

“I read, obviously.” Tom replied, rolling his eyes. 

“And you see them how?” Peter said. 

“Apparently my mum was a druid.” Tom said, shrugging his shoulders, “Kate says it comes in handy to see what we’re up against so I always check the wardings on places, hence why I know all about them.”

“I see.” Laura said, narrowing her eyes. “Have you ever actually done any wardings before? Or broken any before?”

“I’ve done a few yeah, different safe houses we stayed at.” He said casually, “I’ve broken them before too, the more they glow the stronger they are. I needed to learn the different strengths and stuff, which is why I know yours aren’t very strong at all, I can barely even see the glow.” 

“And we should believe you why?” Jackson said and Tom shrugged.

“You don’t have to. Makes no difference to me, I just thought you should know. I don’t want you actually relying on those things to do anything helpful. Especially if Kate decides to burn it down again, it’s a nice house, it would be a waste.” Tom said before shuffling off towards one of the chairs and lowering himself into it carefully. Derek could tell that Tom was in pain again but he couldn’t take any more of it. He still felt sick from the last lot. 

“Well,” Laura said, looking around the pack in astonishment before finally settling on Tom, “I appreciate the advice. I’ll contact our druid and see if he can draw up some stronger wards.” There was silence from the rest of the pack before John clapped his hands in the silence.

“Why don’t you kids go off for your run. Melissa and I will keep an eye on Tom.”

“Don’t forget me.” Lydia said, studying Tom who was looking at her in curiosity. Derek couldn’t help but feel a flare of jealousy.

“I don’t think anyone could forget you.” Tom teased and Jackson growled, “Down boy, I’m only stating the obvious.” Tom said and Boyd had to drag Jackson out of the clearing. Derek turned on his heel and headed for the woods, they’d stay close today, he couldn’t trust Tom not to try something stupid when he had the chance.

“So,” Tom said when Lydia settled in the chair next to him with a pad of paper, “Is this where you start psychoanalysing everything I say?” He said cracking open an eye and peeking at her. Lydia just grinned.

“No, actually, I was wondering if you could draw me some wards, show me what strong ones are supposed to look like.” She said, handing him over the pad of paper and a pencil. Tom shrugged and sat up, wincing slightly when his ribs protested. Lydia settled on the chair next to him and he began to draw.

“This one makes any one who isn’t pack state their intentions before they can enter the home, all of them. Like, if I was coming over to kill you, I’d have to state it before I could enter, same if I was just coming over to steal some of Derek’s cooking.” Tom said and Lydia laughed, he jotted the notes under the ward helpfully.

“That’s pretty cool.” She said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, “What about this one?” She said as Tom continued to draw.

“This one is for protection.” He said, “It’s pretty similar to the one you’ve already got, but it has this little quirk, if the person trying to enter does have evil intentions in mind it blasts them backwards. Now, obviously, the distance depends on the strength of the ward. I once had a guy thrown thirty feet. I didn’t expect it to be that strong if I’m honest. His buddies had to drag him to the hospital and it was a couple of months before he could walk again.” Lydia stared at him in amazement. 

“Was it one of your wards? Why was he trying to break in?” She asked in curiosity.

“He was another hunter.” Tom shrugged, “He wasn’t a nice guy and Kate has a habit of upsetting pretty much everyone who meets her. They knew where we were staying. Thought it would be fun to teach us a lesson.” 

“Both of you?” Lydia whispered horrified.

“All of us.” Tom said, “Kate, Gerard – her father, his three other goons, Mick, Mark and Matt and me.” 

“And your wards held them off?” 

“Not just my wards.” Tom replied self-consciously, “The guy screamed when he went flying, woke the whole house up. Gerard was shooting at them before they got a chance to even try and enter again. “

“Still,” Lydia said, “If it wasn’t for your wards they would have gotten in.”

“Yeah.” Tom said sighing, before continuing drawing and explaining more wards to Lydia.

“How do you know all this?” She said a little while later.

“I found some books a few years ago. Gerard had them stashed away. We were in a hurry to leave and he’d forgotten about them. I took them while he wasn’t looking and managed to hide them. After that it was just reading and learning and messing about with them and seeing what worked and what didn’t.” Tom said casually and Lydia frowned.

“Why did you have to hide them?” Lydia asked and Tom frowned.

“It doesn’t matter.” He said, getting to his feet when John and Melissa appeared out of the house. 

“You kids okay?” Melissa called and they both nodded, Lydia taking back the pad of paper to study it more. 

“We’re about to start on lunch.” John said as Tom and Lydia walked towards them, “You guys want to help?” 

“Sure.” Lydia said, “I’m just going to put this inside.” She said, indicating the paper and then disappeared quickly. 

“Alright kiddo, you want to help with the cooking or the setting up?” John said and Tom frowned.

“Whichever.” He said, watching the treeline carefully. “Will they be back soon?” Tom asked, seeing movement in the trees.

“Yeah. Any time.” John replied, throwing some burgers on the grill.

“You should watch what you eat.” Tom said and John raised his eyebrows, “Not that your weight is an issue.” Tom said blushing, “I just meant, you haven’t got the same metabolism as the wolves and you aren’t getting any younger. They seem to need you around. Cholesterol is a killer.” Tom finished awkwardly and John laughed loudly. 

“Sure thing kid. I’ll make sure I eat my greens.” John said laughing and Tom shuffled awkwardly on the spot.

“Sorry. That sounded bad. I just,” He shook his head, “I shouldn’t have said anything. Sorry.” 

“No problem. It’s nice to have someone looking out for me.” John grinned and Tom returned the smile shyly. “You know, I have some books in the library inside, they were my wife’s. She was always so certain they’d go to our son, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you having a browse through them if you like?” 

Tom looked shocked to say the least, like he just couldn’t comprehend why John would offer to let him look through the books.

“Maybe some other time?” Tom replied a moment later and John nodded not wanting to press the matter.

“Sure thing kid, they’ll still be here whenever.” John said turning back to the BBQ.

The wolves arrived back about half an hour after that, their faces flushed and happy, wide smiles as they approached the cooking food. 

“Has he behaved?” Laura said as soon as she arrived and Tom frowned at her.

“Obviously. Otherwise I’m sure I’d be back in the cage or lying dead on the floor.” Tom replied before moving back towards the chair he’d been sat on earlier. 

“I’ll take that as a yes?” Laura said arching her eyebrow at John who nodded in reply. 

“Yeah, he’s been fine. Lydia and him were chatting through some wards, I think she’s got some drawings in the house.” John said and Laura glanced over at Tom who was leaning back with his eyes closed, basking in the late autumn sunshine. 

“I’ll call Deaton in the morning, ask him to come over next week.” Laura said.

“We might not have that long. If Kate is here and if she decides to attack, she could do it any time.” John advised and Laura nodded tightly.

“I’ll go call him now.” She said, disappearing into the house. 

They ate lunch quickly, and Tom had a burger, constantly glancing around as if one of the wolves would snap at him for eating their food. Derek knew that trust was a two-way street, knew that he wanted Tom to trust them, but he wasn’t sure they could trust him. 

They spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun, a few play fights broke out amount the younger wolves, Derek decided they still had too much energy and he watched as they took turns sparring with each other. He glanced sideways and noticed that Tom was watching them too and he could see amusement in his eyes.

“What’s so funny?” Derek asked and Tom glanced across at him guiltily.

“Nothing. I’m just thinking how easy it would be to beat them. They’re like puppies.” Tom replied and Boyd snarled.

“Really?” He said. “I heard that Erica knocked you out.” He said proudly and Tom shrugged.

“Yeah she did.” He replied, “Only because I was too busy about to finish Derek off.” He said casually and then closed his eyes again, relaxing in the sunshine. 

“I bet I could take you.” Boyd said and Tom grinned at him widely. 

“Probably, but then I am chained up.” He said shaking the chains for emphasis, “But in a fair fight? Not a chance.” Tom smirked and Boyd growled.

“Derek, can you take the chains off? Just for two minutes while I kick his ass?” Boyd pleaded and Derek looked across at Tom who was grinning widely. 

“What makes you think you’ll last two minutes wolfboy?” Tom taunted and Boyd snarled again. 

“Alright.” Derek said and Tom looked at him surprised. “But, no permanent damage.” Derek said, he wasn’t sure if he was talking to Boyd or Tom.

“I’ll try.” Boyd growled. Tom only nodded, rubbing at his wrists slightly as the chains came off. Derek could see where they’d cut into his wrists slightly and he examined them for a moment before Tom looked at him in confusion. 

“I won’t put them back on as tightly.” Derek said and Tom only shrugged. “Are you sure you’re up for this?” He asked, worried about the broken ribs bound tightly under Tom’s shirt. 

“Obviously. Don’t worry Derek, I won’t hurt him too badly.” Tom said, winking, oh my god, Derek was going to have an actual heart attack from that wink, and smiling as he moved towards the middle of the loosely formed circle. “Alright.” Tom said a moment later, “Come on then big guy.” He taunted before Boyd let lose a roar and charged straight at him.

If Derek hadn’t seen it with his own eyes he wouldn’t have believed it, one moment Boyd was charging straight at Tom and the next the smaller boy had moved out of the way, grabbing Boyd’s arm as he went, pulling it around behind Boyd’s back and slamming him down into the dirt, straddling him and holding him in place.

“Now,” Tom taunted, pinning the struggling wolf, which, really, how? Surely Boyd should be able to throw him off easily, “If I had my knives this would be the time when I’d slit your throat. But since Derek removed absolutely every weapon I have, I’ll have to teach you instead.” Tom said, climbing off Boyd and offering his hand. Boyd glared at it for a moment before accepting it in resignation. “First off,” Tom said, “Just because you have the strength doesn’t mean your opponent isn’t strong.” He said, “Come at me again, but this time, actually watch my movements, don’t think you’re going to defeat me just because you have strength and speed.” Boyd grinned when Tom backed away from him and charged again, slowing slightly, but not before Tom had managed to slide between his legs and come up behind him, tapping him lightly on the back of the head. Derek laughed, as did the rest of the pack. 

Gradually the afternoon wore on and everyone had gathered in a circle now as Tom took on every single one of the pack and showed them how to improve on their fighting style. He even took down Laura which surprised them all. She surprised Tom when during their next fight she leaned in and pecked him on the lips, he was so startled, flailing wildly in shock that she nearly managed to pin him before he reversed her hold and pinned her again. 

“Nice try.” Tom grinned. Derek didn’t feel so forgiving, he didn’t want Laura kissing Tom, didn’t want any of them to. He wanted him. He couldn’t remember ever being so jealous.

“You’re pretty good.” Laura said as Tom reached down to grab her hand and help her to her feet. “Considering you’re only human.” 

“Yeah, well,” Tom said, pulling up his shirt slightly to wipe at the sweat running along his neck, he seemed to miss the quick inhales of shock as everyone saw the bruising covering his stomach, “You guys could be great, you just need to think a bit instead of going straight for the attack.” Tom said, suddenly sensing the silence around him, “What?” He said and Scott pointed at his stomach.

“Did I do that? God, Tom, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He whimpered and Tom looked at him in confusion.

“Course not Scotty.” He said calmly, they could all hear his steady heart beat, “However, I am exhausted.” Tom said, wincing as he sat down in the chair, “I might just have a little bit of a sleep?” He asked and Laura nodded eagerly.

“Of course. Do you want to come in? You can have the sofa? Or we’ve got a spare room if you want a proper bed?” 

“Nah.” Tom said, his eyes already closing, “I’m fine here.” He said, his voice dropping off and his heart beat slowing. They all watched in amazement when a few minutes later he started to snore softly. 

“We’re not going to kill him are we?” Erica asked cautiously and Derek looked to Laura.

“I don’t think so.” She said, “We still have to be cautious, but I think we can trust him.”

“So we’re not putting the chains back on?” John said hopefully and Laura pursed her lips in consideration.

“No. But we have to have two people with him at all times. Under no circumstances is he to be left alone with anyone, he’s still dangerous.” She said and there were a few mumbles of agreement before everyone nodded. 

They messed about for a little while longer, practicing the few tricks that Tom had taught them. Tom was snoring softly in the background, Derek felt his heart clench every time Tom shifted slightly and then winced in pain but slept on. Derek sat down on the ground next to Tom and reached out slowly to start drawing his pain. Instantaneously he felt like he’d been hit by a train, he slumped backwards against the chair, struggling to catch his breath.

“Derek?” Laura said, rushing towards him, “Are you alright? Are you hurt?” She asked and he shook his head, despite the fact he thought he was about to be sick. 

“He’s got a very high pain threshold hasn’t he?” Peter said, staring down at the sleeping boy. “It’s very impressive.” He moved as if to touch Tom when the boy jolted awake suddenly, his heart beat soaring quickly, his hand wrapped around Peter’s wrist to shove him away and reaching for a weapon that he no longer possessed in the space of a second.

“Woah!” Laura said, moving into Tom’s eyesight and putting her hands up gently, “It’s okay Tom. Peter wasn’t going to hurt you. It’s okay.” Tom blinked at her for a moment before snatching his hand off Peter and standing abruptly. 

“Sorry.” Tom said glaring at the floor.

“It’s okay.” Peter said, taking a step towards Tom who flinched slightly, Peter paused in his movements. “It’s fine. It’s my fault, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Tom looked up at him in confusion, "I actually came across to say how sorry I am about the way I acted last night, I wanted to say it is morning, but I chickened out in front of the whole pack and my sarcasm kicked in, what I did was wrong and I'm sorry and I hope one day you'll be able to forgive me." Peter said as Tom studied him. "Okay. Fair enough. We've all done stupid things in the past, so long as it doesn't happen again, we're good." "Really?" Peter said shocked, "Just like that?" "Just like that." Tom said in confirmation just as a car approached.

“Deaton’s here.” Cora called from the porch as if they hadn’t already heard that.

“He’s the druid who did the wards.” Derek explained when Tom looked confused. “Laura wants him to redo them.” Tom nodded but didn’t move, “Do you mind coming up to the house with us? Show him the wards you drew earlier?” 

“Sure.” Tom said after a moment before following them to the house. 

“Deaton,” Laura said in greeting, “Thanks for coming on such short notice.” She said and Deaton nodded, his attention on Tom, which Laura picked up instantly, “This is a friend of ours. He knows a little bit about warding and he mentioned that ours could do with some improvement.”

“Oh, really?” Deaton said raising an eyebrow condescendingly at Tom. “And you know about wards do you?” Deaton said and Tom shrugged his shoulders.

“I know a bit. Enough to think you need to do more than draw a half-hearted attempt above the front door.” Tom replied and Deaton glared at him.

“Well, please, feel free to show me what I’m missing.” Deaton snarled and Tom scowled. 

“Erm, I drew some earlier with Lydia. I think if you do one of those at the doors and windows you would probably be a lot safer.” Tom said but he looked intimidated and Derek couldn’t help but want to protect him. Lydia appeared a moment later, smiling smugly as she handed the drawings over to Deaton who flicked through them.

“Did you combine a protection ward with a blasting ward?” Deaton said a few minutes later, staring at Tom with eyes full of wonder. If Tom would look up from the floor he’d probably see that. 

“Yeah.” Tom said.

“And it works?” Deaton said incredulously. 

“Yeah.” Tom said again, scuffing his feet on the floor, his heart beating loudly in Derek’s ears. 

“Where did you learn this?” 

“I, erm, I just messed about really. I drew a lot more that didn’t work.” Tom muttered, “It was a steep learning curve.” He said and Deaton eyed him speculatively. 

“It’s not just any old druid that create new wards.” Deaton said and Tom blushed slightly, “It’s very impressive.”

“Erm, thanks.” Tom said. “Can I…” He paused, “Laura, do you mind if I go to the bathroom?” He said and Laura stared at him in shock.

“Yeah, sure, of course.” She said, “Derek and Isaac will go with you.” 

“Yeah. Sure.” Tom said, already moving down the hallway. Deaton was still talking to Laura and although Derek knew Tom wouldn’t be able to hear, he and Isaac still could.

“I’m serious Laura,” Deaton said, “No normal druid can reimagine wards, they won’t work. That boy, whatever he is, isn’t just a normal druid, he’s special. You should keep him close.” 

“We intend to.” Lydia replied and Derek grinned, Tom was wining the whole pack over. Derek really didn’t want the day to end, to be forced to make the decision. 

“Can I go to the toilet by myself?” Tom asked and Derek shook his head. 

“Not yet.” He glanced at Isaac, “But we’ll turn around, give you a bit of privacy.” 

“Okay.” Tom said quietly and Derek was worried, why was Tom acting so oddly? He wasn’t swearing at them, or acting sarcastic, he was acting like he was scared, like he was vulnerable. It made Derek want to protect him even more. Derek turned his back on Tom and Isaac stood next to him. They waited for a few moments, no sound of any movement behind them when suddenly Derek smelt salt in the air. Isaac and Derek both turned around horrified to find Tom staring at the toilet and tears running silently down his face.

“What’s wrong?” Isaac said, stepping forward. 

“Tom,” Derek said when there was no response, “Tell us what’s going on? Are you hurt? Do you need something?” Tom was shaking his head silently.

“I’m just tired.” He mumbled and Isaac stepped forward pulling Tom into a gentle hug and Tom stiffened for a moment in surprise before allowing Isaac to hug him. Derek curled around the other side of him and Laura came in a few moments later followed by the rest of the pack who all curled around Tom until his tears eventually stopped. 

“Tom,” Laura said a little while later, the sun long since set, Deaton had left after redoing the wards, it was time to decide what to do and she was studying the boy in front of her, “You’re free to go.” Tom looked at her shocked.

“But,” He stammered slightly.

“No,” Laura said holding up a hand, “We’ve done everything we can to show you that we aren’t monsters. You’re free to go home. Hopefully you can convince Kate too.” 

“So that’s why you were being so nice?” Tom said sounding strained, “Because you want me to convince Kate that you aren’t bad guys?” 

“Of course we were extra nice to you.” Jackson said, “We want you on our side.” 

“Right.” Tom said, nodding tensely. He couldn’t believe it. He felt sick. He’d thought, god he was such an idiot, he thought they’d cared, thought they’d actually cared about him. How could he have been such an idiot? They just wanted to use him. The same way Kate did or Gerard did. He had been more relaxed here in the past day, and that included the kidnapping and beating, than he had been in the past thirteen years. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been allowed to eat the same food as Kate, or sit at the same table, or even at the same time. He didn’t know the last time he didn’t ache with injuries, didn’t fear the constant beatings for reasons that he couldn’t decipher. He knew for a fact that Kate had never tended to his bruises, she always told him that pain made him stronger, nobody had ever offered him help before and it stung that the wolves had only done so in an attempt to use him. Allison was the last person to hug him yesterday, before that, he didn’t know how long since he’d had physical contact with a human being that didn’t result in bruising. 

Of course they wouldn’t want him. He was fucked up. They didn’t want him to tell Kate anything but they didn’t want to be stuck with him either. He thought he might burst into tears again, but instead of earlier, where it had been because he was seeing how life could have been and it was so nice to just relax for five minutes, now it was because he felt like such an idiot. He was an idiot. He needed to get out of here.

“Alright, well your secret is safe with me. I’m going to go.” Tom said, already heading towards the door. 

“Allison just text.” Scott said as Tom was leaving. “She says Kate is at her house and demanding to know if they’ve seen Tom.” Tom nodded.

“Don’t worry. I’ll think up a good excuse.” He said, shutting the door behind him quickly and jogging off into the darkness.

“Did anyone else think he smelt kind of off?” Erica said, “Like, sort of sad?” 

“He smelled miserable.” Scott said sadly.

“You don’t think he’s going to tell Kate do you?” Isaac whispered and Derek shook his head. Tom’s heart had been beating faster than usual but it was still steady when he said he’d keep it a secret. 

Allison called Scott a couple of hours later and Scott put the phone on speaker so they could all – even the humans – hear what had happened.

“He didn’t say anything did he?” Peter asked as soon as the phone connected and Allison grumbled down the phone.

“He didn’t say anything.” She snarled, “He covered for you guys despite he looked absolutely wrecked. What did you do?” She hissed angrily.

“We didn’t do anything.” Laura replied, “We spent the day with him and then told him he could go home.”

“Well, something must have happened.” Allison insisted, “I know he was trying to put a brave face on, but he looked gutted.” 

“What did he say?” Derek asked, worry running rampant through his veins.

“He said he’d spent the night with one of my friends from school, who didn’t happen to mention the boyfriend who walked in on them this morning and jumped him. He spent the day trying to get back here stark naked and had to steal some clothes off a nearby clothes line.” Allison said and Derek had to say he was impressed with the lie. 

“What did Kate say?” Scott asked.

“She said she was surprised that he’d finally decided to sleep with someone and didn’t bother to check if she already had a boyfriend. Apparently, she thought he’d want his first time to be more special. Tom was quite embarrassed; I think we all were if I’m honest. But then she just said that he needs more training if some guy can get the jump on him like that and then they left.” Allison said. “Things were tense though, I think she thought I didn’t notice, but it was obvious she wasn’t impressed.”

“But she didn’t suspect us?” Peter pressed and Allison paused for a moment. 

“I’m pretty sure she didn’t. But we should probably still be on guard.” Allison said.

“Alright, well do you want to come across in the morning? We’ll run through a few plans then?” Laura said and Allison agreed before hanging up the phone.

As soon as Allison arrived the next morning Derek went out to meet her. He hadn’t really slept well, every time he closed his eyes all he could think about was Tom, how the hell he was this far gone on a guy he’d just met he had no idea, but there was something about him, something that was familiar and safe. Once Kate’s scent had started to fade a bit more it was easy for Derek to see Tom as an innocent caught up in this instead of Kate’s puppet. 

“Have you seen him? Or spoken to him?” Derek said before Allison had even gotten out of her car. She gazed at him for a moment, studying him and Derek tried not to blink under her scrutiny.

“No.” Allison said, sighing heavily, “I called him last night but he didn’t answer. Kate was on about some top secret project they needed to work on. I guess he’s out of touch for a while.” 

“Okay.” Derek said, hating the fact that none of them could talk to Tom, to check that he was okay, that he was sticking to his word.

“He won’t betray you if that’s what your worried about. When Tom says something he does it, he’s not a liar.” Allison hissed angrily, striding towards the house.

“I know.” Derek replied, “I’m just,” He paused, he was what? Terrified that Kate would figure it out and Tom would tell her everything? Scared that he could lose everything again? Worried that Tom was hurt and he’d have to do more training just to make up for the crap story he told? “He’s a good kid, I just want to make sure he’s okay.”

“Shame that you didn’t see that good kid before you beat him up.” Allison retorted heading towards the kitchen.

“I said I’m sorry.” Derek growled following after her, ignoring the looks from the rest of the pack.

“Yeah, that makes it so much better.” Allison replied sarcastically, before looking at Derek sympathetically, “I’m sorry. It’s just, he’s my cousin and I care about him and you hurt him, physically, obviously, but he was such a wreck last night. You hurt him emotionally too. I don’t know what you guys said or did, but he was hurting when he got to ours.” Allison paused, looking for the right words, “We’ve never been overly close. I didn’t meet Tom until I was six, and then we only saw each other every few months, but he’s always been there for me. Always looked out for me.” Derek could see she was thinking of all the times Tom had watched out for her. “One time when we were nine I broke a glass amulet that Kate had been carrying around that was supposedly really important, it was beautiful, it had like this silver shimmering mist in it, I just wanted to look at it, but I dropped it and the mist floated away. Tom was confused, like he didn’t know what had happened but he still took the blame for me. I don’t know what happened after that but Kate dragged him from the house, kicking and screaming, she literally had to throw him in the back of the car. I didn’t see him again for two years and he acted like he didn’t even remember it, like it was no big deal. But you understand right? Tom knew he was going to get into trouble, and he still said he’d done it. He’s loyal to a fault, and for whatever misguided, crazy, idiotic reason, he’s protecting you guys now. So just, just fucking trust him.” Allison ranted and Derek blushed with shame.

“Okay.” He said, knowing that apologizing to Allison for his treatment of Tom would not make any difference. “Okay. I’ll trust him.” 

The next week was probably one of the worst of Derek’s life. Beaten only by the time after the fire. They were all waiting for Kate to attack, constantly looking over their shoulders, waiting for something to happen. He’d managed to get Tom’s number from Allison but no matter how many times he’d called Tom had never answered. 

Allison came over Thursday night, punching Derek in the face violently.

“What the hell?” Derek said startled, his broken nose already healing.

“You hit him again?” Allison screamed in rage and looked ready to punch him again.

“What? Tom? Allison what are you on about? I haven’t seen Tom since he left here on Saturday night.”

“He was at ours last night.” Allison seethed, “He’s had the crap kicked out of him and he said that the boyfriend of the girl he hooked up jumped him again. Except there was no girl, there was only you hitting him and if you didn’t hit him then why the fuck does it look like someone hit him with a truck!?” Allison screamed, drawing the attention of everyone in the pack.

“Allison, I swear to you, I don’t know what happened to Tom but it wasn’t me. I promise.” Derek said, relaxing slightly when Allison slumped in defeat. 

“What’s happened?” John asked, looking at them with worry.

“Kate, Grandad and Tom were over at ours last night. He was a mess, there were fresh bruises on his face and his neck, he was wincing every time he moved, I wanted to take him to the hospital or at least get him some painkillers but Kate and Tom both said it was fine, that he didn’t need them.” Allison was nearly sobbing now and Scott was hugging her tightly, “When I asked what happened he said the boyfriend and his mates had got the jump on him again. Kate just laughed and said he needed even more training. I thought, the only thing that made sense, was that you’d kidnapped him again.” She glanced at Derek, “I’m sorry I punched you.”

“Don’t worry about it. What happened after that? Is he still at your house?” 

“You are not going Derek.” John said firmly, “I get that you are crazy about the boy but there is no chance you are putting yourself at risk by going snooping around a hunter’s house.” Derek blushed, he didn’t realize anyone else knew just how much he liked Tom, but by the way nobody else seemed shocked by this confession made him think that maybe he had been a bit obvious.

“He’s not there anyway.” Allison said sadly, “They left not long after, Tom said he wasn’t hungry, so Kate and Grandad finished their tea and then they left. They were going to work on this secret project that they’re doing.”

“Do you know what it is?” Laura asked and Allison shook her head. “Okay, well, next time he’s over, see if you can get him alone, then call one of us and we’ll speak to him, okay?” 

“Sure.” Allison said, looking worried, “But if you guys didn’t hit him, and we all know the boyfriend excuse is a joke, then who did?”

“I didn’t mention it earlier,” John said, “But, the other night, when we were talking, Tom said the bruises he got were from when training got too rough. I don’t want to think that Kate is purposefully hurting him, but if those bruises we saw, and the ones Allison saw are both from training, then maybe she is?” 

“She wouldn’t.” Allison said quickly, “I know you all think Kate is a monster, but she’s my aunt. I know she’s a bit unstable, but she cares for Tom. She saved his life, she raised him. She wouldn’t hurt him. Not on purpose.”

“Maybe she’s not doing it on purpose.” Scott said, hoping to calm Allison, “Maybe she thinks Tom can handle it.” 

“He can.” Peter said, “The guy has a very high pain threshold. Walking around with broken ribs is agony, fighting with them is almost unheard of. If he can do that, who knows how much pain he can take? Maybe he’s just as bad as Kate, maybe he pushes her to hit harder and push harder and keep going?” 

“Don’t ever say he’s as bad as Kate.” Derek growled.

“You know that isn’t what I meant Derek.” Peter said rolling his eyes, “I just mean, if Kate has raised him to fight, maybe he doesn’t know any better?” 

“We need to talk to him.” John said, “If this is because of training, he has to understand it’s not normal.” 

“We will. As soon as he’s at mine I’ll call you and let you know.” Allison said firmly. 

The next few days dragged by and Derek was finding it harder and harder to actually sit down and do some work, his wolf was prowling around in agitation and he needed to just get out. 

Sunday morning came around crisp and clear, a light frost on the ground and Derek decided to go for a run. It didn’t matter that they’d gone for a long run yesterday morning, his wolf needed to get out and run until it couldn’t anymore. Derek shifted quickly and felt immediately better when the leaves crackled under his paws. He ran for miles around the preserve, hearing only the sound of his own breath and the scurrying of creatures in the undergrowth as they moved out of his way. 

Thoughts of Tom filled his mind, he missed him, which was weird considering they only spent about twenty-four hours together and a good chunk of them Tom was either in a cage downstairs or asleep. But, even though Derek knew how odd it was, it didn’t stop the fact that Tom was all he could think about. He missed him, he wanted to see him, he wanted to know that he was okay. 

Derek was so preoccupied with the thoughts running through his mind he almost missed the huff of laughter ahead of him. He didn’t miss the sharp sting of a dart as it hit his flank and then the pungent stench of Kate as she strolled towards him grinning as the world faded around him.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since he’d been taken but he knew the time had been filled with pain. 

He was chained to a metal grid, his hands pulled out uselessly to the sides and his legs hanging a few feet above the floor. Electricity was running through the metal and making his whole body writhe in agony, a cold sweat covered his body and he felt like weeping at the pain. 

Kate had tortured him, demanding information on the pack that he refused to give her. She’d cut him, grinning like a maniac as he healed, turning the electricity up and cutting him again, watching as the cut healed slower this time. Eventually she got bored of his whimpers of pain and started to stab knives through his sides, ensuring that they touched the metal on the other side and the current increased. Derek screamed. He screamed until his voice was gone, until all he could think about, all he could wish for, was death. He couldn’t tell her anything about the pack, but he couldn’t survive much longer like this. 

She left a little while after that, smirking at him as she wiggled the knives slightly before leaving. As soon as the door was shut Derek closed his eyes and cried. He hurt, god he hurt so much. He just wanted to go home. 

Tom had been having a crap week. Sure, he’d had plenty of bad weeks before, but never like this. Kate had never been so vicious with him before now and that was saying something because she was always pretty vicious. She’d started by taking his phone off him and smashing it into the ground, stating that he could never be too distracted with girls to not sense an opponent approaching.

She’d made him fight with no weapons, made him run until his lungs burned and his legs gave out. She only let him eat when he was on the verge of collapsing and even then she kicked him to the ground. 

“It’s good for you.” She said calmly, “You have to learn to deal with the pain, if werewolves were to capture you, they wouldn’t be so gentle, you need to work through the pain. If you can’t then you’re dead.” She said, repeating the same line that he had heard his whole life. He didn’t believe it the way he usually did though. He’d been captured by werewolves, and they’d gone easier on him than Kate ever had. Sure they hit him a few times, but still, they’d let him have a shower for as long as he liked and with hot water, they’d given him dry clothes, let him eat, let him sleep. He’d felt more at home for that one day than he could ever remember. 

Still, he carried on, he fought back, despite the fact his muscles were screaming, he kept running, even though he threw up a few times from the pain. He couldn’t show weakness in front of her, he wouldn’t. 

At night, when he was too exhausted to stand, Kate would pull him into bed with her and wrap herself around him. He used to believe that this was her way of showing him some comfort, apart from when she’d kick and punch at him if he slept for too long, but now he wondered if it was just her way of marking him with her scent. He closed his eyes but he didn’t sleep, instead his mind was filled with thoughts of the pack, of how he’d felt so relaxed with them, tried to help them even if they were the enemy as Kate so often declared. He thought of Derek, of how the man had let Tom take his pulse, Tom wasn’t sure how reliable it actually was, but he somehow still knew that Derek was telling the truth. He thought of how Derek had taken as much of his pain as possible, without Tom even having to ask. Tom dreamt of Derek, he knew how messed up it was, Derek had kidnapped him and hit him, but still, he’d also apologized, tried to explain why he’d done it. Tom couldn’t help but respect him for that.

By the time Sunday evening rolled around Tom was agitated, Kate had left mid-morning and hadn’t returned yet, despite the fact they were supposed to be going to see Allison and Chris shortly. Tom had spent the day with Gerard and a couple of his Mark and Matt, Mick was off elsewhere which was a bit odd. They were fighting hand-to-hand combat until Tom could barely see straight and he had more aches and pains than he’d ever felt before. 

Kate had turned up eventually, grinning happily at her father and washing blood from her hands. When Tom had asked what happened Kate had only smiled at him before telling him to go get ready for dinner. If Tom happened to sneak a look through her jacket pockets and find a card for a storage unit just outside of town, well, that was purely accidental. 

They arrived at Allison’s just after six and Tom could see straight away that she was agitated, but they couldn’t get any privacy, Kate or Gerard were always hovering nearby. Eventually they sat down for dinner and Allison nudged him, he glanced down and saw a message on her phone from Scott:

‘Derek’s missing.’

It was simple and to the point and Tom thought he was going to be sick, the blood on Kate’s hands must have come from Derek. He had no idea if Derek was still alive or not but he had to find out.

“Are you okay Tom? You’ve gone very pale?” Chris asked and Tom shook his head numbly.

“No.” He mumbled, “Sorry.” He said dashing from the room and running to the nearest toilet where he knew they all heard him throwing up. He reappeared in the room a few minutes later, wiping at his mouth apologetically. 

“I’m suddenly not feeling very well.” He said, “I’m going to head back. I won’t spoil your evening.” He said, pushing Allison back into her seat when she started to rise.

“Okay. We’ll see you at home.” Kate said, her eyes flashing dangerously and Tom nodded. If she knew what he was about to do she’d kill him. There was no doubt about it.

“Okay.” Tom said, catching Allison’s eye as he walked towards the door and nodding at her tightly. He hoped she got the message, that he’d find Derek, hopefully alive, no, he had to be alive. Kate didn’t just kill werewolves, she toyed with them first. Derek would be alive. He’d find Derek and he’d get him home. 

As soon as he was out of the front door he was jogging across town, he knew where the storage lockers were, he’d been made to memorize the entire lay out of the town before they’d even come here. They weren’t far from the preserve, it would be easy to see how Kate would be able to get Derek here without anyone seeing him, especially if he’d been out for a run. 

He slowed to a walk as he got closer to the lockers and then to a complete stop when he saw somebody walking up ahead. As he got closer he recognized the man as Mick, one of Gerard’s goons, and Tom knew he had to take him out quickly before the man saw him. Mick was good with weapons, he was fast and quick and light on his feet. Tom wasn’t even allowed any of his weapons yet, not since he’d been so careless with them the week before. Tom knew he’d only have one chance at this, he followed Mick silently, feeling more like a predator than a hunter. When Mick stopped outside the door to the container Tom’s eyes narrowed, he knew that this was the one they were holding Derek in. 

Mick turned on his heel, walking back towards Tom and Tom slunk low, lashing out a foot to Mick’s stomach and then following up with a kick to the head. Mick was out for the count and Tom could only pray that he hadn’t recognized Tom before he lost consciousness. He grabbed the keys and a phone out of Mick’s pocket and then headed over to the container.

As soon as he opened the door the stench of blood hit him and Tom had to fight back the urge to be sick. 

Derek heard the door cracking open and growled, he couldn’t show weakness, he had to fight with everything he had, even if it killed him. Kate’s scent got closer and Derek snarled, snapping his teeth in what he hoped was her general direction.

“Derek.” He heard a voice, that didn’t sound like Kate, it sounded wrong, too deep, too sad, “Derek, it’s okay. It’s me. I’m going to help okay? Just don’t eat me.” Derek could hear movements and then finally the electric current shut off and his body sagged in relief. “Okay big guy, you’re doing great.” Tom said, Derek cracked open an eye and looked at Tom, the guy looked terrified.

“Tom?” Derek whispered, his voice hoarse and cracking.

“Yeah, it’s me Derek. Okay, just hold on.” 

“What are you doing here? How did you find me?” 

“I’m here to help. Kate left a card in her pocket, pretty dumb move actually. I was just hoping you were actually here otherwise I had no idea where to look next. Now, we need to get these knives out of you. So, it’s going to hurt, try not to kill me.” Tom said and Derek nodded weakly, biting back a cry of pain as Tom pulled three knives from his sides. “Okay, nearly there Derek, I’m just going to get the chains alright?”

Derek nodded, not trusting his voice, Tom stepped up onto a ledge near the grid and reached up to get at Derek’s hands. Derek tried not to growl at the stench of someone who smelled so much like Kate standing next to him.

“Keep talking.” He mumbled and Tom looked at him shocked but nodded firmly.

“Okay, yeah, sure thing. Well, once we get these chains off you we’re going to take a nice stroll through the preserve. Get you back home. Everyone is really worried about you, I’m sure, plus, nakedness, lots and lots of nakedness. We’ll have to get you some clothes or you’ll have to shift, but I can’t have you wandering around town naked, you’ll give people heart attacks.” Tom said, finally managing to get one of the cuffs undone. “There’s a guard outside but he’s unconscious at the moment so we’re okay for now. I left Kate and Gerard at Allison’s, but I don’t know how long we have before they get suspicious and come here. Hey, do you know Laura’s number? I’ve got a mobile now but no idea who to call to come help?”

“What about your phone?” Derek asked as Tom moved across to the other side of him.

“I dropped it.” Tom said.

“Lying.” Derek replied and Tom gave him a half smile.

“Kate smashed it.” He said evenly, “It’s not a big deal. Anyway, how are you feeling?” Tom asked as the second cuff gave way and Derek collapsed forward, the only reason he didn’t hit the floor was because Tom caught him, “Okay, easy there Derek. We’re alright, we’re going to head towards the door now, okay?” Tom said, pulling one of Derek’s arms over his shoulder and then taking most of Derek’s weight and practically dragging him towards the door.

As soon as they stepped into the cool evening air Derek felt like he could breathe again. He glanced to his right and saw the unconscious man lying on the ground, he looked to the left and saw the preserve. Tom was dragging him to the left and Derek tried to get his body to co-operate as best as he could.

“It’s okay.” Tom kept repeating, “Nearly at the trees, you’ll be okay once you get to the preserve. We’ll call Laura, she’ll come get you.” Derek could only nod in agreement, putting all of his concentration on getting his feet to keep moving. “Right.” Tom panted a few minutes later, shrugging off his jacket and passing it to Derek to cover himself as best as possible in the situation. “Do you know Laura’s number?” He said passing Derek the phone.

Derek dialled the number to the house, not knowing anyone’s mobiles off by heart. Tom took it back once it started ringing and Derek sighed gratefully. 

“Laura?” Tom said as soon as the phone connected.

“Yes.” Derek heard Laura reply.

“It’s Tom. I’ve got Derek. He’s here with me but he’s hurt. You’ll have to come get him.” 

“Oh, thank god, where is he? Where are you? Are you safe?” Laura said, Derek could imagine her already trying to leave the house to get to him. He heard the sound of a car door slamming not far from them and he flinched. 

“Tom,” He whispered.

“We’re in the preserve. He was in one of those storage units on the far side of town. I’ve got him into the woods but I don’t know how far I can get him.”

“Tom,” He tried again, this time Tom looked at him in worry, “Someone’s here. Car door.” Derek muttered, his throat killing him, he paused, tilting his head slightly to hear more noise, “Kate.” He whispered, “She’s here and, her dad, I think.” Derek said and Tom paled.

“Alright, okay big guy. Don’t worry. I’ve got you.” Tom said, pulling him back up to his feet, “Laura, Kate’s here. We’ve got to keep moving. Tell me you know where we are?”

“Yeah.” Laura said, “There’s a road about half a mile straight ahead of you through the preserve. Can you make it that far?” 

“Yes.” Tom said, already pulling Derek forward as silently as possible. “We’ll be there. Be as quick as you can.” He finished before hanging up the call. Derek tried to help as much as he could, but he couldn’t get any of his limbs to work properly. He was getting blood all over Tom as he leaned on him and Derek could hear Tom’s breathing getting harsher and his sweat beginning to cover Kate’s scent. “Just hold on Derek.” Tom whispered, “We’re nearly there.” Derek could hear the sounds of people moving through the preserve, they were moving faster than Derek and Tom and he knew that they wouldn’t make it to the road before Kate had caught them. 

“We’re not going to make it.” Derek said and Tom looked at him in despair. “You should go on. Get Laura, tell her where I am. You can make it.” 

“I’m not leaving you.” Tom whispered harshly, glancing back over his shoulder to where Derek knew Kate would be soon. Tom looked like he was thinking quickly, “How far is it to the road?” 

“A few hundred meters.” Derek replied. 

“Could Laura be able to smell you from there?”

“Yes.” Derek replied honestly. Surprised when Tom dragged him forwards to a fallen tree and lowered him down to the ground, it was, surprisingly, a very good hiding spot. Nobody would see it unless they were right on top of them. 

“Okay,” Tom whispered, “You’re going to stay here and you’re not going to move. Laura is coming okay?”

“Okay. She’ll be here soon.” Derek croaked, “You could go meet her, bring her back here.” He said quickly.

“There’s too many of them, they’d catch us before we got out of here. I’m not going to risk them catching Laura too.”

“But,” Derek started.

“Listen,” Tom whispered, the sounds of footsteps getting closer, “Listen, Derek, you have to stay really quiet, I’m going to lead them away but you have to stay quiet until I lead them away from here.”

“No.” Derek said, his heart racing, “You can’t, if they catch you, if they find out you helped me escape,” Tom slapped a hand over Derek’s mouth and they gazed at each other. 

“I’ll be fine.” Tom said before jumping to his feet quickly and moving as silently as possible in the opposite direction. Derek could hear two voices getting closer and he tried to stay as silent as possible, even holding his breath. Suddenly there was a loud crack in the direction Tom had run.

“They must have doubled back, heading for the main road instead.” One of the voices said.

“Come on, we better find him quick. Kate will kill us if he escapes.” The other said and Derek heard them shuffling off. He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest, he could hear a car pulling up ahead of him and knew that Laura had arrived. He could hear the noise that Tom was making as he led them all in the opposite direction. He could hear Kate’s laugh as she closed in on what she thought was her target.

“Derek!” Laura hissed from right next to him and he blinked up to look at his sister. “Are you okay?” John, Jackson, Scott and Erica were behind her and Derek nodded in reply, trying to sit up and wincing as his slowly healing wounds made themselves known. “Where’s Tom?” 

“He led them away.” Derek said, John and Jackson getting either side of him and dragging him towards the car, “We need to go after him.” Derek insisted, despite the fact the world was spinning. He closed his eyes again, listened to the forest around him. He could hear the stutter of Tom’s heartbeat as he realized he was trapped. “Please.” Derek said, trying to turn back towards Tom but nobody seemed to be listening to him. “Please, we have to go back for him.” Derek pleaded.

They had made it back to the car and Laura was gazing out into the forest, evidently she was listening too.

“It doesn’t actually surprise me.” Kate was saying, “I thought I’d taught you better, all that crap about some guy getting the jump on you. I knew it was bullshit.”

“I figured that.” Tom panted and Derek felt his heart clenching. 

“You should know better than to make friends with werewolves. They’re all evil.” Gerard growled

“I’ve heard.” Tom replied and Derek could almost see Tom’s eyes roll in sarcasm.

“Obviously we just haven’t taught you well enough.” Kate said in amusement. Derek heard her stride forward and then there were sounds of a fight, grunts of pain when fists and feet connected solidly. Derek tried to push away from John and Jackson, tried to make his way back to Tom, when his legs gave out and everything went black.

When he woke up he was in his own bed and it was just coming light outside. 

“Did you get him?” Derek said, sitting up quickly, feeling much better than he had done hours previously, the wounds long since healed and his body now properly rested. Laura was sat by his bed, gazing at him and shaking her head slowly. “We have to go back for him.” Derek said, throwing the covers back and getting to his feet, glad when his legs felt strong and steady underneath him.

“Derek,” Laura started.

“No, he saved my life. We have to go back for him.” Derek said.

“We don’t know where he is.” She replied sadly, “Kate took him, we don’t know where and we can’t go out trying to track him down when we know there’s a good chance she might be ready and waiting to snatch one of us.” She paused, “Derek, she nearly killed you. Without Tom, well, I don’t think you would have survived the night. I owe him everything, if she’d have killed you, I just, I couldn’t go on. I need you, okay? So please, let’s just plan, let’s figure it out without rushing off and getting ourselves killed. Tom, he, you’re alive because of him, let’s not waste that. Please?” She pleaded and Derek nodded slowly before Laura pulled him into a tight hug.

“Did you hear? What happened?” He asked and Laura nodded.

“They beat him up pretty badly, then you collapsed and I knew you had to be the priority. If I thought that I could have done something I would have done. You know that right?”

“Yeah. Of course I do. I’m just worried.” Derek replied, “But you’re right, we need to get a plan together.” Heading out of his room and down the stairs. The whole pack was already waiting for them in the kitchen including Allison and Chris who both looked distraught.

“How are you feeling?” Peter asked and Derek shrugged his shoulders.

“Fine. No lasting damage.”

“That’s good.” John replied, pulling him into a tight hug, “We were so worried about you kid. I’m glad you’re okay.” 

“Yeah, me too. Alright,” He said, addressing the rest of the pack, “We need to find a way to get Tom back.” They all nodded, “Allison can you tell us what happened last night?”

Allison cleared her throat, “Well, I tried to talk to Tom but Kate or Gerard were always around. When we sat down for dinner I managed to show him Scott’s text and then he went really pale and left the room to be sick.”

“I asked him if he was okay.” Chris added, “But he said he wasn’t feeling well and was going to go home. He left by himself and we tried to keep Kate and dad talking.”

“They didn’t stop long, literally they finished their tea and were out the door. Kate kept insisting it was because she wanted to go check on Tom. We tried to keep them there, but I didn’t want to make it suspicious what was going on. I didn’t know what Tom’s plan was and I didn’t realize he knew where Derek was.” Allison added.

“He said he found a card in Kate’s pocket. Just came to check there on a hunch. He didn’t actually know if that was where she was keeping me.” Derek replied and the room went quiet.

“So, how do we find him then?” John asked, “Chris, do you know where they are staying? Maybe they are there?” 

“I don’t know. Kate was bragging about it, she had Tom put some wards on it, it could basically be right under our noses and we wouldn’t be able to see it.”

“What like Hogwarts?” Isaac asked.

“Think more like Grimmauld place.” Chris replied and Isaac’s mouth dropped open in surprise that Chris even knew that, “The only people who can see it are the ones who know about it. We can’t track them if they are there.”

“Okay, do we know if they have anywhere else they might go?” Derek said quickly.

“No. But I’ll try.” Chris said, “Although, I think they suspect we know about the pack. It’ll be hard to convince them to trust us.”

“I don’t care.” Derek growled and then caught himself, “I’m sorry. I just, we need to find him. I need to know he’s okay.” Chris looked surprised but nodded.

“I understand. I know it’s hard for you to believe, but I had no idea Kate was treating him this way. He’s like a nephew to me. If I’d have known she was hurting him, if I’d have had any idea then I would have never let her have him.”

“Do you know about his parents?” John asked, “Who they were? Maybe we could track his dad down or something?”

“No.” Chris replied, “I know Kate found him when he was four, but we didn’t get to meet him until he was six, by that time, well, he just said he didn’t remember them and I didn’t want to press the issue. Kate said he’d been traumatised. He didn’t even mention them; I think the only time I heard him say anything about them was when he was nine.” Chris looked to Allison, “You probably don’t remember? He’d broken that amulet of Kate’s and she was really upset, insisted on leaving right away. But Tom was out of control, throwing a tantrum like I’d never seen before or since. He just kept screaming that Kate wasn’t his mum and he wanted to go home, wanted his dad, and then she shut him in the car and they were gone.” 

“I remember.” Allison nodded, “Tom didn’t break it. I did. He just took the blame for me.”

“Really?” Chris said surprised and Allison nodded, “Okay, well, anyway, I called Kate a few days later and she apologized for leaving so quickly. She said sometimes Tom suffered from these uncontrollable fits of rage and she didn’t want him to lash out at Allison or I. I spoke to him on the phone and he apologized but he sounded off, distant almost. We didn’t see him for nearly two years after that. And then, well, then he was a lot harder, tougher. He was training to be a hunter by then, had been for a while by the sounds of things, and I just decided not to mention anything. I let him down. I should have realized something was off.” Chris said sadly, Derek couldn’t help but want to agree with him.

“Well now we have to make it up to him. Which means finding him.” Laura said seriously, “We’ll split up, Derek, John, Isaac and Erica, you have the North side of town.” She said pulling out a map and indicating the area in front of her, “Peter, you, Chris, Melissa, Lydia and Scott take the South side. Cora, you, Allison, Boyd and Jackson are with me and we’ll take the East. We’ll meet at the church in the middle of town and then all do the West side. Sound good?” There were nods of agreement, “Okay, good. Grab whatever you need and let’s get going.” Laura said, striding towards the door to put her boots on. “Any sign of any of them and you call us and wait for backup.” Laura ordered and again everyone nodded.

Derek was determined to find Tom, he needed to, not just because Kate was hurting him, not just because Tom had saved his life, but because Tom had spun his world on its axis and nothing felt right within him in it. 

By lunchtime they’d covered their area and there wasn’t any scent to suggest that Kate had ever been in this area. Nobody else had called so they made their way to the church slowly. None of the other groups had had any luck either and Derek tried to keep his hopes up. They spent the afternoon searching the other part of town but once again there was no sign of Kate, Gerard or Tom. They headed back to their own house, all feeling more than disappointed that their search had turned up nothing.

When Tom woke up it was to feel his hands chained above him and his feet barely touching the floor. It wasn’t anything new and he wasn’t exactly surprised at his situation, if he was honest he was more surprised that Kate had actually kept him alive. He looked around the basement slowly, it was nowhere near as nice as the one the Hales had put him in, it was damp and dark and there was a thick slime that was covering the walls and most of Tom from where they’d obviously dumped him on the floor before chaining him up. 

He knew that whatever was coming wouldn’t be pleasant, but he also knew that it was worth it. Derek was with Laura and the pack, Derek would heal, he’d be okay. He had to believe that, because even thinking about the alternative, that Kate had found Derek and finished him off, made him feel physically sick to his stomach. 

He knew he needed to start working on a way to get out of these chains, sooner or later the person assigned to beat him would appear and he needed to be out of here by then. He knew his ribs wouldn’t hold up for long, he had a feeling the most recent beating had broken a few extra ribs as well as damaging the ones that were already broken by Peter. Not to mention his wrists were already cut and bleeding from the chains taking his weight. 

He needed to get out of here, but he just didn’t have the strength. His head felt fuzzy and his limbs felt heavy and he just couldn’t find the strength to figure a way out. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Kate strolled down the stairs, a grin on her face when she saw the state of him. 

“Tom, how are you feeling?” She said in greeting, he only glared at her in reply. She continued walking forward until she was just out of kicking reach and studied him. “You know,” She said conversationally, “I’d really hoped that you would grow out of this. That I’d be able to raise you to realize that they were the real monsters. Well, the Hale pack may have led you to believe that they are innocent, but I want to introduce you to a real monster.” Kate said, her smile turning feral as a man appeared at the top of the stairs.

He was tall and broad, he had long, dark, hair that was pulled into a ponytail at the back of his neck and bright blue eyes, his wide smile was more feral than anything Tom had seen before and when his eyes flashed Alpha red Tom couldn’t help but feel his heart beat faster in his chest.

“So, Malcolm, what do you think? Is he acceptable for you?” Kate grinned and Malcolm eyed Tom hungrily. 

“More than acceptable.” Malcolm replied in a deep voice, approaching Tom confidently. 

“Acceptable for what?” Tom asked, licking his lips nervously.

“Well,” Kate grinned, “I’ve been tracking Malcolm for the past couple of months, he knows some friends of yours, he bit them actually, a few years back.”

“Your Scott’s alpha?” Tom said in surprise and Malcolm smirked. “Why are you here?” He said narrowing his eyes.

“I hear my beta’s have integrated themselves into another pack.” Malcolm grinned, “I’m more than happy to call them back in exchange for the right prize.” Tom paused for a moment, trying to process the thoughts that were racing through his head at a hundred miles an hour. 

“So,” He said addressing Kate, “You’re going to use him to turn Scott and the others on the Hales? And in return he gets me?” Kate grinned, an obvious confirmation for Tom, “Two points,” Tom said turning to Malcolm, “One, I really think that you’re getting fucked on this deal dude, you put your life on the line to destroy another pack and I’m what you get in return? You could do so much better. Point two,” Tom continued, “Do you really believe Kate is going to stick to the agreement? She’ll let your betas kill the Hales and then she’ll kill you. As fucked up as she is, she isn’t going to just let a werewolf have me.” 

“He’s got a point.” Malcolm said turning to Kate, “My betas are well established within the Hale pack, I’ll have to get close and it’ll have to be a full moon to have any chance of controlling their actions, which means I’ll be risking my life. How do I know you’ll stick to your end of the deal?”

“You’ll just have to trust me I guess.” Kate smirked in reply.

“Well, I want a sample of the goods first then.” Malcolm smiled predatorily at Tom.

“Okay.” Kate grinned, “But no biting, not until after the full moon, then you can do whatever you like with him.” 

“Not okay.” Tom said, “So not okay, dude.” He said, pulling on the chains at his wrists at Malcolm approached him. He swung backwards as far as possible and as Malcolm took another step closer he swung quickly forwards, lashing out a bare foot and feeling it connect solidly with Malcolm’s side. He couldn’t help the gasp of pain he let out when the movement pulled on his ribs, it felt like he was on fire, it hurt so much. If Malcolm had been an ordinary human then the kick would have easily broken his ribs, as it was, Malcolm only grinned at Tom with pride before stepping forward and crowding up against him.

“I do like it when they fight back.” Malcolm whispered into his ear and Tom pulled more frantically on the chains. “It makes it so much more fun.” Malcolm said, his lips nibbling gently on Tom’s ear lobe, “And I haven’t had a chance to play in so long.” He said, moving his lips down and sucking on Tom’s neck, his human teeth digging bluntly into Tom’s skin and surely leaving bright red marks. Malcolm ran his hands slowly over Tom’s exposed torso and pressing his body against Tom’s so that Tom could feel Malcolm’s hard erection against his hip and he tried not to let out a whimper. 

“Alright,” Kate said clearing her throat and Tom wanted to thank her and praise her and apologize over and over and promise to never do anything so stupid again. “That’s enough for now.” She said and Malcolm pulled his head away just slightly, “A deal’s a deal, you want him, you can have him, but only after the Hale pack is destroyed.”

“The full moon is three days away.” Malcolm replied, nuzzling back at Tom’s neck, “I’ll do it then.” 

“Okay. Well until then, he’s ours.” Kate snarled, “So leave him be.” She said and Malcolm turned to look at her slowly.

“Fine.” He said, finally stepping away and Tom let out a sigh of relief. “Don’t get overexcited boy, three days and you’re all mine.” He trailed a finger down Tom’s torso, “The things I’m going to do to you,” Malcolm shuddered with desire and Tom fought the urge to be violently sick as Malcolm’s hand moved lower and brushed over his crotch, “I’m going to thoroughly enjoy taking you apart bit by bit.” He said and Tom glared at him.

“I’m going to thoroughly enjoy chopping you up bit by bit.” Tom retorted, knowing his heart beat was steady and there was no trace of a lie. He would kill Malcolm, one way or another, at some point. He knew that. He wanted to make sure Malcolm knew it too. Malcolm threw his head back in laughter and turned to look at Kate.

“You sure did pick out a strong one.” He turned back towards the stairs, “Oh, and kid, I’m more than happy with my end of the deal.” He said, winking as he disappeared from sight. Kate stood looking at him, looking oddly relaxed and he couldn’t help but wonder what he had done so wrong to make her hate him so much. Okay, so he helped Derek escape, but he was innocent, and surely Kate could see the irony in her actions, that she would kill the Hales who hadn’t hurt anyone, but hand him over to a monster?

“Kate,” He said, trying not to sound like he was begging, she scoffed at him before turning on her heel and heading back up the stairs. He had to get out of here and he had to do it sooner rather than later. Tom pulled again on the chains that clinked together but otherwise held strong. 

The days passed by in a blur, he wasn’t sure how much time had passed in between beatings, and yes, there were plenty of them. Malcolm reappeared a few times over the course of the days, eyeing Tom hungrily and rubbing his body against Tom’s constantly. Tom was sure by now he probably stank more of the Alpha than of Kate. He was losing hope, he needed to get out of here and he needed to warn the pack. They weren’t the monsters Kate believed them to be, and more importantly, nobody deserved to be betrayed by people they considered family. Tom’s father had abandoned him, told him that it was his fault his mother was dead, he’d been with Kate and Gerard since, and, okay, they never really felt like true family, but still, the fact that Kate was willing to do this felt like a betrayal. 

He needed to get out of here, he needed to warn them. 

By the night of the full moon Tom was a mess, his wrists were a bloody mess, his face was covered in cuts and bruises, his chest hurt every time he took a breath, he had hickeys sucked into his neck, chest and stomach, Malcolm going a little lower every time he made an appearance and Tom fought the urge to be violently sick. Malcolm had also dug his claws in slightly and left a trail of four cuts across Tom’s hip, it was still bleeding sluggishly every time he moved.

Kate had made a few appearances as well, she’d slapped him about a bit and he’d done nothing but glare at her in defiance. He would kill Malcolm, preferably before he got anywhere near the Hales, and then, then Tom would take great pleasure in killing Kate too. 

“I’m taking him with me.” Malcolm said as he came down the stairs. 

“Not part of the deal.” Kate replied. 

“Do you think I’m stupid woman?” Malcolm snarled, “As soon as those wolves are dead you’ll kill me and I’ll never get my hands on the boy.” Kate shrugged and Malcolm growled, “He comes with me or there’s no deal.” Kate thought for a moment before sighing.

“Okay, fine. But we’re coming with you, I’m not having you claim him before you’ve done your job.”

Malcolm smirked at Tom’s horrified look, “Aww, you take the fun out of everything.” He said, grinning at Tom. 

As soon as the chains came loose Tom felt his legs begin to give as they took his full weight. He took a few steadying breaths, despite the pain in his chest, ignoring it in favour of planning his escape. Kate and Malcolm were both studying him and he tried his best to look defeated, there was no way he would get past both of them, he needed to get out into the woods, take out Malcolm and make a break for it. 

Gerard appeared at the top of the stairs, shouting for them to get a move on already and Malcolm approached, tying a length of rope quickly around Tom’s already bloody wrists and then pulling him towards the stairs. 

Tom tried to look as pathetic as possible, it wasn’t hard, he just had to think about how much pain he was in and let it show on his face for once. He stepped out into the cool night air in jeans, he was barefoot, that would make running harder, and his chest was exposed to the wind. He shivered without meaning to and Malcolm grinned at him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll warm you up plenty later on pretty boy.”

Tom wanted to come out with a smart retort, but all he could think about was getting out of the ropes and steeling himself for the night’s events. It was going to be tough. 

They all piled into two separate cars and drove towards the preserve. They pulled off the road about three miles from the Hale house and Tom stumbled as he was dragged out of the car. 

“You know werewolves have super hearing?” He said loudly, “I’m sure they’ll hear you coming at least a mile off. You’ll have to be closer than that in order to get the betas to turn to you, won’t you?” Tom asked and Malcolm spun quickly, smacking him so hard across the face that he felt his lip split open and feel like his jaw had been smashed. 

“Quiet boy, or next time I’ll actually break your jaw.” Malcolm growled and Tom nodded submissively. He needed to get out of the ropes before he could even attempt to make a break for it. He relaxed as best as he could and started trying to pull his way out of the bindings without anyone noticing, thankfully his wrists were already slick with blood and it made the job easier. 

They were about two miles out now and Tom was beginning to panic, he needed to make his move and quickly. Kate was about ten feet in one direction, gun already drawn, Mick was ten feet across again, then Matt. Mark and Gerard were spaced out on his other side, Malcolm and Tom were in the middle, Tom a few steps behind Malcolm. He’d need to be quick and he’d need to be ruthless. He had to make sure the wolf couldn’t follow him straight away, but he also needed to get away quick enough that the others didn’t shoot him. 

He calmed his heart, took a few deep breaths, preparing himself, he knew he could do this, he’d spent his whole life training to push through the pain, and now, a matter of life and death, he had to push through the pain. He let the rope go a little slack, pulled his wrists out of the rope in one quick movement. He grabbed Malcolm’s head and twisted viciously sideways, snapping his neck in a moment. He knew it wouldn’t kill the wolf, but it would slow him down enough to give Tom a chance. He was already moving, away from the body, backwards, into the trees. He knew he could lose the hunters in the trees, he was usually very good at avoiding capture. But he didn’t have time to hide, Malcolm would already be healing and would find Tom in an instant. Right now he needed speed.

He ran, he ignored the protest in his ribs, the stabs of pain in his feet as they cut and bled, the racing of his heart. He didn’t care that he was leaving an obvious trail for Malcolm. His plan was not to hide; his plan was to beat him there.

Derek and the rest of the pack were feeling defeated. They’d spent four days looking for Tom with no actual results. They knew Kate was still out there so they weren’t going out for their usual full moon run, which annoyed Derek no end. They were trying to be cautious and careful and instead Derek felt trapped and useless. It didn’t help that Allison and Chris were here as well, they’d had no luck in locating Kate or Gerard and they decided to spend time with the pack instead, in case she decided to try something here.

Laura was on edge and Derek knew it was because she was worried about Derek doing something rash, so instead he tried to stay as still as possible to try and get her to relax. Instead he closed his eyes and focused on the sounds in the woods outside. It relaxed him in a way that nothing else did. 

A few minutes later and his eyes snapped open wide, there was someone crashing through the undergrowth, heading straight for their house and not being subtle about it at all. 

“Someone’s coming.” He growled, heading for the door and Laura moved just in front of him as he opened the door. 

They were all out on the porch, Laura at the front, Derek and Peter just behind her, the others behind them. All their claws and fangs were out, ready to meet whatever threat was coming head on. “It smells like an another alpha.” Laura said a moment later and Derek growled.

Tom crashed through the last bush, his eyes wide with panic, blood and dirt covering him, Derek could smell it from here. He moved to go to the panicked boy but Laura stopped him.

“What are you doing here?” Laura growled, she was worried this was some kind of trap and Derek could understand that.

“We don’t have time.” Tom said moving forwards to the bottom of the steps so that Derek could see him clearly. Tom looked like shit, he looked like he hadn’t slept in days and he was running for his life. 

“Make time.” Laura snarled. “Our wards will hold until you tell us what’s going on.”

“There’s no time.” Tom said, sending a panicked look over his shoulder before waving a hand across the front of the porch. Derek saw a faint glow for a moment before it was gone and then Tom was hurrying up the porch and pushing them all backwards into the house.

“Did you just break our wards?” Peter said astounded.

“I told you they were weak.” Tom retorted. “I’ll tell you.” He glanced back towards the woods, “I promise. But right now, we need to get the bitten wolves in cages. Right now.” He said, pushing the younger wolves towards the basement.

“Hold on. You smell like an Alpha.” Laura said, reaching out to grab Tom’s shoulder who flinched out of her grip, “Why do you smell like an alpha and what the hell do you think you’re doing to my wolves!?”

“I’ll explain. I promise. Just trust me.” Tom pleaded, another quick glance backwards, “Trust me.” He repeated and Laura met Allison’s eyes before she sighed in agreement and then suddenly they were all rushing down to the basement and Tom was shutting each of the bitten wolves, including Lydia, into a cage of their own. 

“Alright, now tell us what’s going on.” John demanded just as a howl echoed around the house and the younger wolves covered their ears in pain, instantly wolfing out and slamming into the cage bars in an attempt to reach the Hales.

Tom glanced at the wild look on Scott’s face and quickly ran his fingers across his hip, where blood was running again, before starting to smear his blood across the wall in a symbol.

“What is going on?” Cora shouted over the noise and Tom held up a finger for her to wait before he finished the drawing, moved to the opposite side of the room and repeated it. Derek and the others were staring at the younger wolves with horror, they looked like they wanted to kill them, that they were on the edge of going feral. It made him shudder to think what would have happened if they weren’t shut in the cages.

“Better?” He asked Scott as soon as he finished and Scott nodded, although his eyes were still more wolf than usual and he still looked to be in a bit of pain, he seemed like himself, like he was aware of what was going on. “Kate tracked down their Alpha, Malcolm.” He explained, “She was going to get him to get the betas to turn on you, attack you. You’d either be killed or have to kill them. And once it was over, she’d be here to kill anyone who was left.” He said, drawing a few more wards at the doorway and windows. 

“You escaped?” Laura whispered, “And you came to warn us?” She said in amazement.

“Of course.” Tom replied, “She was going to use your family to kill you. There’s a lot that I would let slide, but not that. Never that.” Tom said, heading towards the stairs. “You should stay down here. The wards will protect you. I’ll come back soon.” He said, disappearing up the stairs and out of sight, and Derek looked to Laura for an answer, they could still hear the other Alpha howling in their woods. It was wrong and Derek didn’t like it. He wanted to go kill the guy just for trespassing on their territory and on his territory, Tom was his and he didn’t like the smell of Malcolm on him, nearly as much as he didn’t like the smell of Kate previously. 

Laura glanced at the wolves in the cages, obviously they were still in pain, but they looked to have it under control, they weren’t losing it completely just yet and Laura made her decision. 

“Stay here. I’m going to go help Tom.” 

“No chance.” John growled, “If you’re going up there, we’re coming to.” He said, Laura looked like she was going to argue, but one look at their faces and she knew it was useless. Melissa agreed to stay with the wolves while the rest of them headed up the stairs.

When they got into the kitchen Derek noticed that three knives were missing from their usual block and he assumed Tom had taken them as weapons. 

“Tom?” He called out in a hushed whisper, he didn’t think anyone else had invaded their home just yet, but he didn’t want to make an easy target if they had. He heard the sounds of a fight outside and glanced at Laura who nodded as they made their way towards the front door.

Tom was in the clearing outside and he was fighting Malcolm, armed only with a couple of kitchen knives. Derek felt his heart stop for a moment in his chest. Tom was something else, watching him move with such grace, despite knowing that he was injured, watching him dodge the alpha’s claws, returning Malcolm’s snarls with his own. 

Tom was getting in some good hits but Malcolm was getting in a few too. Tom’s jeans were torn by claws across his right leg and Derek could see the blood staining it. Derek moved to go help but Tom must have caught sight of the movement, his eyes going wide with panic as he saw them and throwing his hand up in their direction, his palm glowing white. Derek saw a slight shimmer appear in the air in front of him and when he tried to move through it he couldn’t. He turned slightly and saw that the barrier encircled the house, Tom had thrown up a shield to protect them and it had cost him a second in the fight, Malcolm launching himself at Tom and knocking him into the ground hard. 

Derek cried out in denial as Malcolm snarled his victory, banging uselessly on the barrier that protected them, he could hear Laura, Peter, Cora, John, Allison and Chris were doing the same thing.

Malcolm turned to grin at them, pinning Tom helplessly beneath him, pulling tightly on his hair to hold him in place.

“You’re going to make an excellent addition to my pack.” Malcolm grinned, his fangs protruding, ready to bite, when Tom spat in his face. Malcolm released Tom momentarily to wipe at the spit in his eye and Derek watched in amazement as Tom pulled a knife, possibly from the back of his jeans, and stabbed it into Malcolm’s forehead. The alpha roared in rage and fear, scrambling backwards, but Tom held on, clinging tightly to the knife as he flipped them over and was now the one pinning Malcolm, pulling the knife out and ramming it into his temple.

“I told you I was going to kill you, you sick fuck.” Tom spat, staggering to his feet, covered in so much blood now that Derek wasn’t sure how he was still standing. Tom pulled the knife out of Malcolm’s head, checked for his pulse, sighed heavily and then stood to his feet. 

“Is he dead?” Laura asked and Tom nodded minutely. Derek couldn’t really do anything other than watch in amazement, this boy had taken on an alpha in hand to hand combat, and won. Nobody did that. Not ever. Derek felt his heart swell with love and pride, now all he needed to do was hold onto Tom tightly, watch him heal and then all would be right with world. 

There was a sound of popping and then the barrier in front of Laura shook momentarily before going back to normal. Derek glanced down at the barrier and saw two bullets lying on the ground on the other side. 

Kate, Gerard and three other men strolled out of the woods, guns drawn and a look of victory on their faces.

“So, is this all that’s left of the mighty Hale pack?” She taunted and Derek growled, opening his mouth to reply.

“Yes.” Tom said, “I didn’t make it in time, the others are dead. I couldn’t stop Malcolm before he turned them on each other.” Tom explained, standing in front of the barrier, his knives glittering dangerously in his hands and glaring at Kate despite his harsh breathing.

“And yet you still protect them?” Kate said, indicating the barrier, “The Alpha would be dead now if you weren’t.” 

“Good job I am then.” Tom replied. 

“You can’t protect them forever. As soon as you lose enough blood the barrier is going to collapse and then I’m going to kill them all.”

“Laura,” Tom said, without looking back at her, “Go in the house, into the basement. Get out of here.” Tom said and Derek could see how pale he was going, how quickly he was fading. 

“No.” Laura said, “We’re not leaving without you Tom.” Derek couldn’t help but nod in agreement. Gerard fired another couple of rounds into the barrier and Tom paled but the barrier still held. 

“I say we just shoot him.” Mark said and Kate turned to glare at him.

“I say you shut up.” She snarled.

“He’s no use to us. He’s too loyal to the wolves.” Mark continued.

“Yes, and once we get rid of that loyalty he’ll be ours again, along with his power. So why don’t you just be quiet!” She shouted.

“I won’t be yours.” Tom said, “Not ever. Not even if you kill all the wolves here. I don’t belong to you. I never belonged to you. And I’ll never share my power with you.” 

“Oh sweetie,” Kate said, smirking at him, “You won’t even remember any of this.” She said, pulling out a small amulet from her pocket.

“Hey,” Allison said, “Isn’t that the one I broke?” 

“Actually I had two of them.” Kate smiled, “You smashed the first one, thankfully I had a replacement. It just took a couple of days hard work to wipe Tom’s memory and then it was fine, such a shame that I took so much of his power at the same time, but he’s still pretty powerful as it is.” She shrugged, “Obviously if he had all his memories then he would be so much more powerful, but then I wouldn’t be able to control him.”

“You wiped my memory?” Tom said astonished, shifting his weight onto his good leg as the other one started to shake with pain.

“You wiped his memory?” Laura, John and Derek said in unison.

“Of course.” Kate smirked, “How else would I get him to behave?” Tom’s legs gave out, the barrier shimmered slightly before holding again, Tom was panting for breath now, trying to push himself back to his feet but not having the strength to do so. “Shall I tell you what happened Tommy? Shall I tell you about your life before me?” She taunted, crouching down arm’s distance away from Tom and smirking at him.

“Leave him alone.” John and Chris both shouted and Kate looked up at them, smiling widely.

“It’s funny it would be here.” She said, gesturing to the house behind them, “Shall I tell you what happened to your family Sheriff? To yours Alpha Hale?” She smiled before continuing, “I poisoned the wolves with wolfsbane, put it in through the vents.” She said matter-of-factly, smiling at Gerard who just nodded for her to continue, “It wasn’t enough to kill them, just enough to make them weak. They went down to the basement, to protect themselves. Of course I’d counted on that, I was already waiting for them.” She giggled, “I put a knife through your emissary’s back. She was the only one who could have stopped me. She had to be the first one to die. So you’ll imagine my surprise when she drops to her knees and I see the toddler she was cradling.” She grins wickedly and John felt his heart breaking, “He was such a little cutie, big brown eyes, looking up at his mum in confusion.”

“Stop it.” John whispered and Chris put a hand on his shoulder.

“But don’t you want to know?” Kate taunted and they growled, “Don’t you want to know how that boy managed to throw up a shield similar to this one.” She said, indicating the barrier around them, “Not as well put together, obviously, but this tiny little child was stopping me from getting to the rest of the wolves. To your family.” She grinned, “Of course, it didn’t hold long. As soon as his mum died he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. He just kept crying, screaming at her to wake up.” John had tears running down his cheeks now, as did the rest of them, “The shield collapsed, and I knew, I just knew, that if I could have him on my side, I’d be undefeatable. Your Alpha was screaming at me to put him down, leave their child alone, could you believe it? That she was trying to protect a human child? That she thought he was anything like her? Although I admit, to begin with, he was more like a wolf than a child, constantly kicking at me, scratching, biting. I didn’t have time to kill them all slowly like I’d planned. Instead I set the fire and left.” Kate said and John looked horrified. “I didn’t kill your son Sheriff. I kept him. I made him mine.” She smirked, looking down at Tom who was staring at her with unfocused eyes.

“Stiles.” John whispered and Derek felt his heart shattering into a million pieces.

“If you’d have kept the shield up, their whole family would be alive still.” Kate said to Stiles, gripping his chin in her hand, “But you didn’t, you were weak, even now, you’re failing, the shield is going to fall and they are going to die. Because you don’t save people. You only kill them. Look at Malcolm, look at that. You did that. You’re a killer Tom. You belong with other killers.”

“You told me it was my fault.” Stiles whispered, sounding on the verge of tears, “You told me it was my fault my mum was dead.” There was a puddle of blood on the ground now and Stiles looked to be on the verge of fainting, in fact, Kate holding him by the chin seemed to be the only thing keeping him upright.

“It is.” Kate said, “If she hadn’t been looking after you, she would have sensed me and she wouldn’t have died.”

“That’s not true.” John shouted, banging on the barrier, “Stiles, kid, look at me. That’s not true. It’s not your fault. It would never be your fault. I love you. I love you so much.” John sobbed and Stiles looked at him for a moment, with eyes so much like Claudia’s, how could he have not seen it? How could he not have realized what was going on? Before Stiles’ gaze turned back to Kate.

“You took them from me.” Stiles said, his tone so defeated and lacking his usual strength and Kate held up the amulet grinning.

“And I’m going to take them again.” She said, pressing the amulet hard against Stiles’ temple as he tried to push her away with weary hands.

“No!” John was screaming in denial as were Laura, Peter, Cora, Derek, Chris and Allison.

They watched as a faint shimmering silver substance appeared within the amulet and Kate grinned as Stiles stilled. 

Derek expected the barrier to drop any second and he was ready for it. He wouldn’t let Kate keep Stiles, not a chance, he was theirs and he belonged with them. He’d already suffered for thirteen years; she wasn’t having him a second longer. Derek would happily die before he let that happen.

“Kate,” Stiles said, his voice laced with confusion, “What are we doing here?” He said looking around and his eyes going wide when he saw the wolves behind the barrier. “What’s going on? Who are these people?”

“Shh,” Kate said soothingly, “It’s okay sweetie.” She said pulling Stiles into a gentle hug, “It’s okay, you’re safe. I’ve got you now.” She tried to help Stiles to his feet, he was leaning heavily against her, they could all see how pale he was, see the blood staining his trousers. 

“Don’t listen to her.” Allison shouted.

“What’s going on?” Stiles said again in confusion, putting in every effort to stay upright as best as he could, despite the fact his body was protesting otherwise.

“These wolves kidnapped you honey; they’ve been holding you for two weeks. We managed to get you out, and you threw up that shield to protect us. To stop them coming after us.”

“She’s lying!” Chris shouted, “Tom, kid, listen to us, she’s lying. The wolves didn’t do this. She did!” Stiles was staring at them in confusion, obviously not sure who to believe.

“Look at yourself, those are claw marks sweet pea. Why would I have clawed you? How would I have clawed you?” Kate said sickeningly sweet. “You see that wolf?” Kate gestured to Malcolm’s body, “You did that, you killed him to save yourself, he was going to turn you and rape you. It looks like he got pretty close.” She gestured to the marks on Stiles’ body and he stared at Malcolm in disbelief.

“I don’t understand.” Stiles said, “Why don’t I remember?” 

“You will.” Kate said solemnly, “You’re just traumatized, you’ve been through an ordeal. It’ll all come back in time. I just need you to drop the barrier sweetie. We can take care of them. I promise. You’re safe. You just need to drop the barrier.”

“Stiles,” John cried, “Kiddo, don’t believe her. Please, you can’t believe her. Look at me. I love you. I love you so much.” 

“I don’t know you.” Stiles said warily and looked at John in confusion when he let out a small heartbroken sound. “Why are Allison and Chris with them? You’re not going to hurt them are you?”

“No.” Kate said. “Of course not.”

“She’s lying.” Derek growled, “She’s taken your memories. Mica,” Stiles’ eyes darted up to meet his, “She’s stolen your memories. Please, why would Allison and Chris stand with us otherwise? You belong with us Mica. Your mother was our emissary. She died when Kate attacked us. But you were with us, you were always with us. She stole you away.”

If anything Stiles only looked even more confused, swaying on the spot as he tried to take more of his own weight and pull away from Kate slightly. 

“I don’t know you.” He repeated, “I don’t know what’s going on.” 

“It’s okay sweetheart.” Kate said hugging him and smirking at them over his shoulder, “We’ll figure it out. How about we go to the car hey? We’ll get you home, all patched up, then we can figure this out okay?”

Stiles nodded slowly, turning away from them unsteadily. 

“No!” Derek shouted, “Stiles! Listen to me. She’s got an amulet in her pocket. Smash it and you’ll know the truth. I promise. Please!” Derek called and Stiles stopped.

“Do you?” He asked and Kate glanced back at him.

“Do I what?”

“Do you have an amulet in your pocket?” 

“Yes.” Kate answered, “But, Tom, you can’t ask me to smash it, it’s very rare, it’s very valuable and it has a lot of power.”

“What kind of power?” Stiles asked.

“Well,” Kate paused, “It’s Athena’s amulet. It gives me wisdom in battle. Its power comes from the smoke inside that is supposedly the same smoke Athena was born from.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes minutely and then nodded. “Okay. I understand.” He said, taking another step forward and then stumbling slightly as his legs gave again.

“No!” John was screaming, “You can’t take him! You can’t take my boy! Stiles! Please! Please remember! Please!” 

“It’s okay sweetie. You’re weak. Keeping the barrier up is taking a lot from you. Why don’t you just drop it? Let it go. You’ll feel so much better.” Kate cooed. 

Stiles pulled back from her, his fist clenched tightly around the amulet he’d stolen from her pocket and she looked at him with wide panicked eyes. 

“Tom, what are you doing?” She said cautiously as Stiles kept moving away from her, back towards the barrier. “Come on baby, you’re hurting and you’re scared. Just give me back the amulet and we’ll go home.”

“I might be hurting and confused.” Stiles growled, “But I’m not an idiot.” He snarled, “I’ve seen Athena’s amulet. This isn’t it.” He said throwing it to the ground and stomping on it.

“No!” Kate screamed, rushing forwards to clutch at the remains of the amulet as a silver mist seemed to flow from it and straight at Stiles. 

Whatever was happening brought Stiles to his knees, tears streaming down his face and gritting his teeth in pain. A cloud was gathering in the sky, thunder and lightning flashing and a vicious wind tearing through the clearing.

“Stiles.” John was calling from the other side of the barrier, pressing up against it as if he could reach his son on the other side. “Kid, stay with us, stay with me, please.” He was saying as Stiles started to cry out with pain and collapsed onto all fours. 

“We need to leave!” Gerard was shouting over the wind but Kate was still stood by Stiles, looking completely and utterly devastated. The rain started to lash down and within moments anyone outside the barrier was soaked.

“Stiles, Stiles, it’s okay. I’m here. I’m here.” John was shouting, tears flooding down his cheeks as Stiles started to convulse. “I’m right here kiddo. Just stay with me. Please.” He was begging. 

Kate levelled her gun at Stiles and Derek howled, he couldn’t lose Stiles now, he couldn’t. 

“If I can’t have you, then no…” Kate was stopped from finishing her sentence by a blast that came from Stiles and blew her backwards, shattering the barrier and knocking them all to the ground.

“Stiles.” John whimpered, jumping back to his feet as quickly as he could and rushing to his son. “Stiles.” He repeated, touching Stiles’ pale face, “I’m right here. I’m here. Please.” John begged, wiping at the blood and water that ran from Stiles’ face. 

Laura strode towards Kate, who was still getting to her feet unsteadily, Gerard and his goons had left long ago which surprised Derek, he’d thought they would be more loyal to Kate, but evidently not. Kate managed to get her feet under her, looking like she was going to fight Laura but Laura didn’t slow down, didn’t stop, just kept moving forwards and slammed her claws into Kate’s throat, ripping them out a moment later and watching as Kate’s eyes widened in surprise and she dropped to the ground bonelessly, her features frozen in shock as she died. 

“Is he okay?” Derek said, turning away from Laura as soon as he knew she was safe and knelt down next to John. Stiles was still convulsing slightly, although it seemed to have lessened. There was so much blood that Derek wasn’t sure what to do next. 

“We should get him inside.” Peter said, moving towards them, Derek couldn’t help but growl as Peter got closer. Stiles was his and he wasn’t letting Peter anywhere near him, not since Peter had kissed Stiles. “Derek,” Peter sighed, “We need to get him inside. We need to figure out what the damage is.” Derek looked up to see John staring in shock at Derek and then back down at Stiles, as if only just realizing that his practically adopted son was in love with his real son. 

“Come on then.” John said, “Derek, pick him up gently.” He said and Derek followed the command, not liking the heat coming from Stiles’ body or the fact that he still hadn’t opened his eyes even though the convulsing had now stopped.

“Melissa,” Laura was shouting, “Let the others out, the danger has passed. Then you need to get up here.” She said, already clearing things off the table so that Derek could put Stiles down on it. “Cora, go fetch us some towels and blankets, we need to get him cleaned off and dry. Allison, go to the first aid cupboard, bring back as many supplies as you can carry, we’re going to need them.” Laura said as the younger wolves made an appearance and Melissa let out a gasp of shock. 

“What happened?” She said, rushing forward. 

“We don’t know.” Peter replied, “Kate had taken his memories, he smashed the amulet and got them back, but he started to convulse.”

“How long was the fit?” Melissa asked, going into work mode.

“Forty-eight seconds.” John replied hollowly. 

“Okay. That’s good.” Melissa said, “Someone help me get these jeans off, I need to look at that wound.” Laura tore the jeans off quickly and they all winced at the deep claw marks in Stiles’ thigh. “I need pressure applied on it immediately.” She said, already examining Stiles as Derek pressed his palms down on the wound. The whole room was quiet for the next few minutes as Melissa studied Stiles and prioritised the injuries, “Tom, can you hear me?” She said, shining a light in his eyes.

“His name is Stiles.” John said from the end of the table and Melissa turned to look at him with wide eyes.

“Stiles? Like your Stiles?” She said horrified when John nodded.

“Kate took him.” John said, tears spilling from his eyes, “In the fire. She took him.” Melissa looked on the verge of tears now. 

“Alright,” She said taking a deep breath, “Lydia, I want you cleaning those wounds on his wrists, they’re deep and probably infected, make sure you do it properly and then bandage the wounds up. Laura, you’re going to stitch his leg wound up, Derek, you’re going to apply as much pressure as possible to make sure he doesn’t bleed out. Once you’re done with that, clean up the ones on his hip. Isaac, sweetie, you’re helping me with his ribs.”

“What’s wrong with his ribs?” Peter asked.

“There are several broken ribs, the fit has caused part of the rib to puncture his lung and it needs to be drained immediately.” Melissa explained, “John, are you the same blood type?” John nodded, “Good, he’s going to need blood,” She said, quickly placing a needle and tube into John’s arm and then into Stiles’. “Anyone without a job, I want you on pain taking duty. This is going to hurt him, a lot, so the less he feels the better.” She said as everyone stepped up to do their jobs. John just stroking Stiles’ hair and muttering nonsense in his ear.

All the wolves not currently doing a job tried to take Stiles’ pain. They lasted about five minutes before they couldn’t take any more and had to sit down on the floor, panting and turning pale with the pain. Thankfully, by that time, Melissa had already inserted a tube into Stiles’ lungs, and god, that was probably the grossest thing he’d ever seen. Laura had stitched up the deep cuts in his thigh and was part way through cleaning out and stitching up the wound at his hip.

Melissa removed the tube with the blood in a few minutes later.

“I can give more.” John said although he looked a little on the pale side.

“You can and you will. But later. Right now you need to sit down, have a glass of orange juice and some biscuits, okay?” Melissa said and John nodded. “Good, Lydia, how are his wrists looking?”

“There’s a lot of damage.” Lydia replied honestly, “I’ve cleaned them out as best as I could but I’m not sure if it’s good enough.” She said unsure, Melissa studied his wrists for a moment before sighing, “Looked like those chains were filthy. We’ll have to get him some strong antibiotics, I’ve no idea why he isn’t already dead.” She said, running a hand across Stiles’ burning forehead. “Scott, fetch some cool water and a cloth, he’s running a high temperature and we need to keep it down. Now, let’s have a look at his feet.” Melissa muttered, her efficient hands quickly removing the filth to see the injuries below. Derek raised a questioning eyebrow and Melissa frowned, “He’ll heal.” She said, “But I don’t know what caused the fit and that’s worrying. It could have been the infection, or the exhaustion or the pain. I just don’t know. But if we don’t know what it was, then I can’t stop it from happening again.”

“What if it happens again?” John whispered and Melissa sighed.

“We’d have to start worrying about decreased brain activity, failure of organs, he needs to go to a hospital really.”

“We can’t.” Laura said, “He blasted Kate and all of us off the ground when he was convulsing. If he did that in a hospital, then he could cause a lot of damage.”

“Okay. Well, then, we need to bandage him up and keep his temperature down and hope for the best.” Melissa said, already stitching a couple of deep cuts in Stiles’ foot.

By the time they were done Stiles looked more like a mummy than a human. He was covered in various bandages. Melissa had cleaned most of the dirt off and he looked a little better now he wasn’t covered in filth, he was still too pale though and he still hadn’t opened his eyes.

“What now?” Derek asked, not used to having to be patient.

“We just have to wait.” Melissa replied, “It would probably be safe to move him to the couch, probably more comfortable as well.” She added, studying the wounded boy in front of her.

Derek picked him up gently and Melissa grabbed the necessary equipment to move him smoothly into the front room. Then they just had to wait.

Hours passed with no movement from Stiles and, despite Derek could clearly hear his heart beating strongly, Derek was getting more and more worried. By lunch time he was pacing around the front room, nibbling on his thumb nail nervously and ready to scream at anyone who even thought he should sit down. 

Laura had called Deaton as soon as she believed it was acceptable and he had arrived an hour ago, all of them filling him in on what Kate had said, what had happened with Stiles and the fact that he still wasn’t awake.

“Why hasn’t he woken up yet?” John asked from his seat next to Stiles, glancing up at Deaton with pure fear in his eyes.

“Don’t worry John. He will wake up.” Deaton said, studying Stiles quickly and efficiently. 

“But why hasn’t he yet?” Derek insisted.

“Kate said that she took his memories yes?” Deaton said and they nodded, “She also said that this effected his power levels correct?” They nodded again, “I believe, and I could be mistaken but I think that it is likely, that when Stiles smashed the amulet all of the memories that had been wiped were pushed back into his brain, as well as the power that had been taken being pushed back into his body.”

“But why does that hurt him?” Lydia asked, “Surely, the extra power should help him right?”

“Well, think of it this way,” Deaton paused, “We all need food to live, and that’s fine, but imagine if you have eaten for a few days and your stomach has shrunk slightly, except then someone comes along and forces as much food as possible down your throat and then keeps going until you can’t breathe, can’t think, can’t move.” There was silence, “Stiles has been without his full memory or powers for years, then all of a sudden it’s coming back at him and it’s a lot for anybody to handle, never mind the fact that Stiles wasn’t in the best condition when this happened.” Deaton sighed, looking at the young boy on the sofa, “He’s alive and he’s healing. He’s strong. Stronger than any of you can imagine. You just need to be patient.”

“Okay.” Laura said nodding, “We can do that.” 

“What happened to my wards just out of interest? I know you said they were broken, but I thought they would hold up for quite a time?” Deaton asked and Laura looked at the floor.

“Actually, Stiles broke them, in a second. Just, erm, poof.” She said, waving her hand in a similar way to Stiles.

“In a second?” Deaton squeaked, his voice higher than usual and his face going slack with shock.

“Yeah.” Laura replied, shrugging slightly.

“Oh.” Deaton replied, almost falling into a nearby chair, “Well, that’s a development.” He muttered to himself, probably unaware that the wolves could all hear him. 

They waited, the hours blurred together, the only acknowledgement of time passing was the sun slowly getting lower in the sky. Melissa kept a close eye on Stiles, removing the tube in his lung and saying she thought it would be okay before putting a singular stitch in the small cut she had made. They waited, Derek thought it would be obvious when Stiles started to wake up, but it wasn’t.

One moment he was still unconscious, the next his eyes were wide open, shining a bright gold that stilled them all in their tracks, and he was rolling off the sofa, choking on air, coughing and spluttering like he couldn’t catch his breath and wanted to be sick. He was crawling towards the front door blindly and Derek was the first to move and place a hand on Stiles’ shoulder.

“Stiles,” He said, “It’s okay, you’re okay. We need to get you back on the sofa okay? You’re going to hurt yourself.” He explained as Stiles continued to try to get to the door.

“Outside.” Stiles said, his voice cracking and he started coughing again, “Need outside. Please.” He begged and Derek scooped him up quickly and headed for the door. 

“What are you doing!?” Deaton hissed, “He needs rest.”

“Move.” Derek snarled and John pulled Deaton out of the way. As soon as they were outside Derek put Stiles’ feet down on the ground, helping him to stand on unsteady feet. 

“No.” Stiles said, “Need more.” He muttered, letting go of Derek and falling to his hands and knees. 

“Stiles!” Derek and John both called out in a panic, only to freeze in place when the ground under Stiles’ hands started to roll. 

“What the hell?” Jackson muttered, he wasn’t alone in that thinking. The ground was moving under Stiles’ hands, the waves getting bigger, pushing away and towards the treeline. The trees, which had been dying off for winter, sprouted new leaves and burst into life around the clearing, the grass suddenly grew a foot in length and flowers blossomed and bloomed. The whole pack could only stare in a shocked silence as the clearing continued to show more and more signs of life. 

They must have stayed that way for at least ten minutes, just watching in amazement as the clearing continued to show signs of life that they never would have seen before. Stiles collapsed onto his back, panting heavily as his eyes finally started to return to their normal amber. 

“Stiles, are you okay?” John said, kneeling down on the ground next to his son. Stiles blinked up at him slowly, nodding his head, his eyes never leaving John’s. “Are you sure? Do you want to sit up?” Stiles nodded, looking at John with something like awe on his face.

“What do you remember?” Laura asked and Stiles’ gaze darted to hers, looking at her in confusion for a moment, biting on his bottom lip nervously. 

“Give him a chance to breathe Laura.” Peter said and Stiles gaze went to him, “The poor boy has just had years of memories slammed into his brain.” He smiled at Stiles who only narrowed his eyes in return.

“Kiddo,” John said and Stiles turned back to him, “You’re going to have to give us something here, do you remember us? The past few weeks? When you were little?” 

Stiles just looked around the group before finally his eyes rested on Allison.

“Ally.” He said, his voice cracking slightly and Derek felt his heart breaking, did Stiles really not remember them? Allison rushed forward, kneeling down next to Stiles, her eyebrows crinkled with worry. 

“Hey.” She said, brushing his hair back off his forehead, “How are you feeling?”

“I,” Stiles shook his head, unsure, “I, there’s, it’s, I can’t.” Stiles mumbled and Allison nodded, pulling him into a soft hug.

“That’s okay.” She whispered reassuringly, “You’re okay.” Stiles leaned his forehead against her shoulder and sobbed silently, everyone just staring at the two of them in silence.

“You didn’t know?” Stiles whispered and Allison shook her head frantically.

“No, god no. If I’d known, I promise, Tom,” She shook her head, “Stiles, god, if I’d have known, if either of us had known, I promise we wouldn’t have left you with her.” Stiles nodded as if that was enough of an answer and Allison looked across to Chris who approached slowly.

“Stiles, we should go back inside, you could get cold out here, and you need to heal. Alright?” Chris asked, looking to John who looked white as a sheet at the fact that he wasn’t the one his son was turning to for comfort. Derek felt the same horror. 

“I don’t,” Stiles started, his eyes glowing gold as soon as he moved, “I can’t.” He said and Chris nodded.

“That’s okay, we can help you.”

“No. I can’t. They’re burning and they’re screaming and she’s dead and I can’t.” Stiles said and Derek felt his heart rate go through the roof. Stiles pulled out of Chris’ hold, stumbling back slightly towards the edge of the clearing. “I need to; I just need to clear my head.” He said, ignoring the way that half the pack seemed to want to stop him from going anywhere.

“There’s a good river nearby.” Allison said and Stiles glanced up to look at her, “You want to go there? Show off your party trick?” She smiled gently and Stiles looked at her cautiously in reply. “Come on then.” She said, taking him by the arm and pulling him gently towards the preserve. Scott was somehow the one on the other side of Stiles, helping to keep him upright, and Derek couldn’t help but be jealous. 

They got to the river and Stiles’ eyes lit up a soft gold, smiling at Allison happily as he moved towards the icy water.

“Wait!” John called in a panic, “What are you doing? It’s freezing, you’ll get hypothermia, or pneumonia, or something.” 

“I’ll be fine.” Stiles said and Allison nodded to John.

“Don’t worry. It’ll help him. I promise.” She said and John nodded slowly before Stiles stepped into the freezing water. Allison sat down on the bank and watched as Stiles made his way further into the river, apparently ignorant of the strong current at the middle. 

“Maybe some of the wolves should be there too.” Derek muttered to Laura, “They run at a higher temperature and he’d be safer with them in the water.” She nodded in agreement before moving towards Allison. 

“Will he be alright with wolves in the water too?” Laura whispered and Allison glanced at Stiles who by now was up to his chest in the water and still not shivering. 

“Yeah.” Allison smiled, “He’s going to be fine.” She said, more to John than anyone else, placing a hand reassuringly on his arm, “He’s going to be fine Sir. Just watch.” She said.

Scott, Boyd, Jackson and Isaac all ran up the river slightly to the nearby bridge, daring each other to jump in first. Stiles was watching them with amused eyes as Jackson shoved Scott over the bridge and he hit the water with a splash before reappearing a moment later, swearing loudly about how cold it was. He made his way slowly over towards Stiles and Allison grinned when Scott stopped suddenly. 

“What’s wrong?” Derek asked, suddenly terrified.

“Nothing.” Scott replied, “Did you pee in the water?” He asked to Stiles who snorted out a laugh before disappearing under the water, “It’s warm, it’s like a fucking hot tub.” Scott shouted out to the others. 

“Not buying it McCall.” Jackson replied.

“Fine.” Scott said, swimming happily, “You’re missing out though.” He taunted as both Isaac and Boyd made the jump, swore brightly until they got nearer the middle of the river and then looked at Scott with wide eyes.

“Shouldn’t he have come back up by now?” John said nervously into Allison’s ear and she shook her head slowly.

“We did this once when we were younger, timed how long he could stay under there. He only came up eventually because we had to get back home.” She replied, “I used to joke that he was a merman. But over the years, we noticed more, I think he shared more with me than with Kate because we’re the same age.” She explained, “He told me about the first time he actually controlled water, they were on a hunt, kelpies not werewolves, they couldn’t live out of water. This one had drowned seven people already, Stiles knew it was heading back to the river and they’d never catch it again if it did. He said he just sort of waved his hands and it was like the water knew what he wanted and it just split out of the way of the kelpie. They managed to finish it off then.” Allison said and Derek was listening to every one of her words eagerly, he wanted to know everything he could about Stiles’ life, he was sure John felt the same. “The first time he controlled the earth he was actually with me.” Allison said, “We’d snuck out into the woods, it was a horrible night, wet and cold, but Stiles wanted to show me what he’d learnt with the water in secret. We were heading for the river when a tree fell, it would have crushed me, but Stiles, well, he slammed his hands together and it cracked right down the middle, missed me by about four foot then.”

“What else can he do?” Deaton said eagerly and Allison frowned at him.

“I don’t know.” She said, Derek heard the lie, “I haven’t spoken to him in a while, this was before I broke the necklace. We haven’t really talked properly since then.”

“Well, if he can control the water and earth, there’s a good chance that he would be able to control the air and fire as well. Elementals are extremely rare, but if the boy has control over two, he could easily get control of four. Imagine how powerful he would be then, whoever had him would be one of the most powerful people in the world.” Deaton said and Derek felt his claws start to poke out.

“Nobody has control of him.” John snarled, “He’ll do whatever he wants, whenever he wants with whomever he wants. Any person tries to take that from him and I’ll shoot them myself.” He said and Deaton paled slightly.

“I just, I meant, if he’s in your pack, you’d be a pack known throughout the world.” Deaton said, “I would never wish harm on him.” He continued and although Derek knew he was telling the truth, there was still something bothering Derek about Deaton. 

The others were splashing happily in the water, taking turns to dive down under the water and find Stiles, who was apparently, one, breathing under water, and two, taking great enjoyment in messing with the wolves. He broke the surface a few minutes later, laughing easily and running a hand across his face and through his hair. 

“Erm, dude,” Scott said, staring at Stiles in astonishment.

“What?” Stiles asked in confusion.

“Where are your bruises? Or cuts? Or broken bones or like anything?” Scott continued, actually going as far as to poke Stiles in the ribs. Stiles swatted his hand away. 

“Hey, still not completely healed.” He said, “It takes longer than this usually, but I think I need to sleep for a bit.” 

“Hang on.” Laura said from the river bank as they started to make their way back to her, “You mean to say, that shoving you in some water helps you heal? Who are you Percy Jackson?” 

“Har-har.” Stiles said, rolling his eyes at her, “It’s actually more to do with the continual flow of the water, it wouldn’t work in a bath or a lake or anything like why I couldn’t heat up the water your darling brother threw over me,” Derek flinched but Stiles didn’t seem to notice, “and also, not mythical god helping me, more about concentrating, a few wards and druid powers and then, boom, almost healed.” Stiles said climbing out of the river and shrugging as if it was no big deal. 

Derek watched Deaton, the guy was openly staring at Stiles and Derek would have to keep a close eye on him, something didn’t feel right. 

“Do you feel better now?” John asked and Stiles glanced at the floor before meeting John’s eyes.

“It’s a lot to take in.” Stiles replied, “But things are starting to make more sense now, yes.” 

“Maybe we should take this in the house.” Derek said, shrugging out of his jacket and handing it to Stiles who took it easily. “Deaton, thanks so much for your help, I think we’re just going to all head to bed now.” He said and Deaton looked at Stiles longingly before scowling at Derek and turning towards his car.

“Call me if you need anything.” He said to Laura, “I’ll come by in the morning and see how Stiles is settling in.”

“There’s no need.” Derek said, ignoring the incredulous look on the rest of the packs stunned faces. “I’m sure Stiles will settle in just fine, however, we’ll call you if there’s any issues.” 

Deaton looked pissed, but he nodded calmly and continued on his way to the car.

“Wow,” Stiles said in the silence, “I thought he was about to have a proper foot-stomping tantrum then. Go Derek, still finding a way to piss people off after all these years.” Stiles joked and everyone turned to look at him.

“You remember that?” Derek said shocked. Stiles shrugged.

“I remember a lot. It’s just not really making much sense just yet. It’s all muddled around and in the wrong order and there’s stuff that seems really important but isn’t, other stuff that is, but I can’t quite grasp it yet.” Stiles said, tapping at the side of his head, “I’m sure it’ll be better after I sleep some more.”

“Come on then,” John said, moving towards the house, “Let’s get you warmed up before you freeze to death.”

“Wait.” Stiles said and John turned to look at him, “I remember mum. I remember you.” He said, his wide eyes earnest, “Not everything makes sense, but I remember your face. I wanted you to know that. That’s important.” Stiles said and John nodded, looking more than a little teary and nodding furiously, “I’m sorry, sorry about what happened, with mum, with the pack, if I’d known,”

“No.” John said, placing his hands gently on Stiles shoulders. “It’s not your fault, it won’t ever be your fault. No matter what.” Stiles looked like he was about to argue but John shook his head slowly, “Kate did this. Kate murdered your mother. She murdered the pack. It was never and will never be your fault. You were a child Stiles and you couldn’t have done anything okay?”

“Okay.” Stiles said after a pause, allowing John to lead him towards the house and into one of the spare rooms. 

“You should sleep.” John said, gesturing to the bed, “You’ve had a long few days, you should get some sleep and we can talk more in the morning.”

“Okay.” Stiles nodded, already heading towards the bed and climbing under the covers. John sat down next to him on the bed.

“I love you so much kiddo.” He whispered, Stiles already closing his eyes, fighting off sleep.

“Love you too dad.” He mumbled and Derek couldn’t help but smile at the look of pure joy on John’s face. 

The next few weeks passed by in a blur, each day Stiles seemed a little more relaxed, his memories and powers slowly starting to settle and make sense to him.

Derek spent as much time around him as possible without freaking Stiles out, apparently he didn’t mind too much which was good. It seemed that everyone apart from Stiles knew how much Derek had fallen from him, the better news was that John didn’t seem to mind. 

Derek wasn’t going to pretend that Stiles was instantly okay, it was obvious to all of them that Stiles was dealing with issues they had never even thought about. Despite the fact he was only four when Kate murdered his mother and the pack, the instant the memory was rammed back into Stiles’ brain, it had been scorched into it. He often woke in the night screaming, seeing the images of his dead mother and the pack calling out for him as he was dragged away and the fire started. 

Not to mention that years of abuse he’d suffered at the hands of Kate and Gerard. There were things he did sometimes that made Derek wince, the first night, when they found him asleep on the floor because he only allowed to sleep in a bed when Kate was with him. He then had to go on and clarify that, no, Kate had never touched him inappropriately, she just liked to kick him if he slept for too long. Then there was the first time that Laura had smacked his hand away from breakfast that hadn’t quite finished cooking and they couldn’t get Stiles to eat for the rest of the day. Kate had never let him eat with them and when he did eat, it was only the leftovers from their previous meal. 

They’d spent several hours convincing Stiles that he was allowed to eat whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Laura had only been kidding, wanting him to wait until the food was ready before they ate together. Stiles had grimaced as they talked to him before finally nodding and saying he was sorry for being an idiot. 

Derek had then gone on a rant about how Stiles wasn’t an idiot, it was the fact that Kate had been a complete bitch and she’d hurt him and used him and it would take time to figure out all the things she did were fucked up. Stiles had looked up at him, mouth agape in surprise, and Derek had blushed violently before storming out of the room. Stiles probably thought he was a complete idiot. 

Then there were other times, when Stiles would go to the river and disappear under the water for hours at a time. Derek would always sit on the bank and listen to his heartbeat, make sure that he was still under there. Stiles would always come back out eventually and they’d sit and talk, sometimes about nothing and sometimes about important stuff. 

Today was a day for important stuff.

“Want to tell me what’s bugging you today?” Derek asked as Stiles dropped onto the towel next to him and Derek handed him a bundle of warm clothes.

“Nothing important.” Stiles shrugged.

“You know I can still hear when you lie, that hasn’t changed.” Derek replied smirking and Stiles grinned sheepishly. 

“Yeah, I know.” He said.

“So, what’s up?” Derek pressed.

“Kate.” Stiles said eventually, “Gerard, even Deaton.” Derek looked at him shocked, “Don’t give me that look, I was there when you chased him off and I know why. He wants to use me, just like they did, because I have power.” 

“I don’t know it definitely, but the way he looked at you, it was definitely a strong possibility.” Derek said.

“I know.” Stiles sighed, “I wish it wasn’t.”

“You wish you didn’t have any power?” Derek asked.

“In a way, I guess.” Stiles heaved a sigh, “I don’t know. I don’t want to be used I guess.”

“There’s no possibility of that happening here. Stiles we all care about you. We don’t care what powers you have or don’t have. All we care about is that you’re here with us.” Derek said earnestly.

“I know.” Stiles said, pausing and seeming to think over things slowly, “But, it’s more than that right? I mean,” Stiles started to blush, “You care about me right? Like, more than just because of my dad?” 

It was Derek’s turn to blush.

“What?” He said shocked.

“Doesn’t matter.” Stiles mumbled, getting up and brushing dirt from his trousers before heading back in the direction of the house.

“Stiles.” Derek called, catching up with Stiles in a few steps, “Wait, just wait. I’m sorry. I was just surprised. I didn’t think you’d realized.”

“What?” Stiles said, he was the one confused now.

“Of course I care about you. I can’t get you out of my mind, I’m completely and utterly crazy about you, every time I’m not around you I feel like a piece of me is missing. I love you.”

“I’m sorry what?” Stiles spluttered, his eyes widening in shock. 

“I didn’t realize you knew, I’m sorry. I can see that you don’t feel the same and that’s fine.” Stiles made to protest but Derek held up his hand, “Honestly, Stiles, it’s fine. I didn’t expect you to feel the same. I’ll try and make it less obvious, and I’m sorry. I won’t bring it up again.” He said mournfully, turning to leave.

“No.” Stiles said, grabbing onto his hand and tugging gently, “No. I didn’t know.”

“But you asked if I cared about you as more than just John’s son?” Derek said confused.

“Yeah,” Stiles sighed, “As in, you’re not just taking me in because I’m John’s son? You guys actually want me here? Not because of who’s kid I am, or what powers I have, but because you like me and you want me here?” 

“Oh my god!” Derek said blushing, “Why didn’t you say that!?” Stiles shrugged, “Of course, of course we want you here Stiles, because you are amazing and sarcastic and stubborn and smart and…”

“…You love me?” Stiles finished for him grinning cheekily at Derek.

“Yeah.” Derek said, relaxing slightly, “Yeah I do.” 

“That’s good.” Stiles said, “I mean, I like you too, like that.” He sighed, “It’s just, Derek, I’m pretty fucked up, you know? And I really like you, I like talking to you, I like laughing with you and arguing with you. I like sparring with you, running with you, I pretty much like doing anything with you. But I’m messed up, like I want to say I love you, but I’m a little bit afraid of that and I don’t think I can say it yet. And you deserve so much better than me…”

“I couldn’t do better than you.” Derek interrupted, “I get that you think you’re messed up Stiles, you’ve been through some awful shit in your life and you’re only just beginning to realize how much of Kate’s processes were not fucking normal. But, you are still the most amazing person I have ever met and I’m crazy about you. Now, if you’re not ready to say you love me too, that’s fine. I’m not putting any pressure on you here. But I like you, a lot, and you like me, at least a little bit, so why don’t we go out sometime? I’ll buy you dinner and we can go watch a film?” 

Stiles nodded smiling and Derek grinned. 

“Good. Now, are we going to head home before every one wonders where we are?” Derek said, holding out his hand and Stiles slipped his hand into Derek’s slightly larger and warmer one. Derek couldn’t help but grin widely at the feel of Stiles’ hand in his.

“Okay.” Stiles replied, smiling at Derek easily. “I’d really like to date you.” He said, leaning up slightly to press a kiss to Derek’s cheek. 

Derek smiled happily as they made their way back to the house. Things weren’t perfect, they probably never would be, there would always be a threat, there would always be danger and the risk of loss. Stiles would always have the memories of his years with Kate, but Derek wouldn’t change that, because as awful as they were, it made Stiles who he is now. Somebody with more strength, compassion and love in his heart than Derek thought possible. Someone who made Derek smile without even trying. 

Yes, things weren’t perfect, they’d still have their ups and downs, but they had each other, they had their pack and they would survive anything that life threw at them. He squeezed Stiles hand tighter before slinging an arm around his shoulder and pulling him in for a hug, smiling when Stiles laughed lightly against his collarbone. He was happy.


End file.
